What the Heart Wants
by Air-and-water123
Summary: Katara Rivers is dating Zuko Agni in the small town of Rivertown. She doubts that he is the one, but sticks with him due to lack of options in their small town. That is until Aang Feng, one of the survivors of the world famous Air Nomad onslaughts and unknown to her the Avatar, moves to town. Will Katara be able to find true love? Or will her heart be left wanting forever? Kataang.
1. Chapter 1: The New Guy

Chapter 1: The New Guy

**Welcome back guys to my new story "What the Heart Wants". This story is going to be a shorter one, probably between five to ten chapters long, so I'll give you fair warning that it's not going to be super long. I also wanted to mention real quick that I am always open about story ideas so long as it's Kataang, so if you guys ever have any ideas about what you would like to read, just PM me at any time and I'll see what you got. Also, I forgot to put this in earlier, but in this story Zuko is a spoiled rich kid so he's going to act like a douche bag. Anyways, thanks for reading my stories and I hope you guys enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. **

* * *

It was a beautiful September night. Twenty three year old Katara Rivers had just gotten off of work and couldn't wait to get home. She worked at a local factory that used waterbenders to pull the pollution out of the water that was being flooded into the nearby water source. She was proud that she got to help keep her community safe and clean from polluted water, but it still took a lot out of her to get all of that pollution. And there was _a lot_ of it. She was surprised that the city allowed the owners of the factory to do this, even if they had people taking care of the pollution. All it would take was for one screw up to not do their job right, and a bunch of fish would come floating up dead. She couldn't complain too much, though. It was the best paying job she had in her life. Walking to her car, she got in and started it up, not moving until she found a song she liked and made her way home. Her phone started ringing in her pocket and she took it out and peeked at it. Groaning slightly, she rolled her eyes and answered, "Hello?"

"Hey Tara, how was work?" Zuko Agni asked over the phone.

"It was fine, it's just really physical and hurts a lot at the end of the day," she admitted with a sigh.

"Well, I know of something physical that would help you relax," Zuko said suggestively.

Katara rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Zuko, we've been dating for two months. I'm not having sex with you yet, we hardly even know each other."

"Oh come on, Tara, it would be a lot of fun," he tried to coax her into it.

"Sorry, Zuko," she said with no regret, "maybe after we've dated for a year, but I'm not just going to give away my virginity to someone who I've only dated for two months. I'm afraid you'll have to stick it out for the long haul."

She heard him gasp on the other end of the phone, "You're a virgin?" he asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I am," she once again rolled her eyes. _I've been doing that a lot lately,_ she thought, _When did that start? Oh yeah, when I started dating him._ "And I'm not giving it away unless it's to someone I love, not to someone I like. Sorry."

"Eh, it's fine, I'm willing to wait. I just can't believe you're a virgin," he said excitedly, "I can't wait until we fall in love with each other."

She groaned in disgust, "Getting a little ahead of yourself, are we? Let's take this one step at a time, Zuko. I'm not rushing anything, and I'm not promising that we're going to fall in love with each other. Let's just see how things go, okay?"

"Oh, don't worry, you'll fall in love with me," he said cockily, "I gotta go, my work starts soon. Bye, Tara." She hung up without saying anything else. She didn't necessarily hate the guy, she was dating him after all, but he just didn't make her very happy. Why was she dating him then, you might ask. Because unfortunately, in her small town, he was the best available man on the market, so she had little choice if she wanted to try to find love. He was nice and all, but she just didn't really feel a connection or anything. Before her mother died, she had always told her that when you found someone worthy of your love, you would just be able to tell. And so far, she was _not_ getting the sense that Zuko was that for her. Still, there wasn't anyone better around so she stuck with him, no matter how much she might be annoyed by him at times. He wasn't an awful person, but she just didn't feel like he would be the One. Shaking these thoughts from her head, she drove the rest of the way home and was surprised to see a moving truck across the street from her house. Slowing down to get a good look at her new neighbor, she gasped when she saw an attractive young man carrying a box towards the house. He wore an orange t-shirt which barely held back his muscles despite his lean frame and a pair of blue jeans along with some bright orange sneakers, making him effectively look like a walking advertisement for oranges everywhere. She giggled a little at the thought, but gasped when she saw him turn around. He was gorgeous. His chiseled features were complemented by his short almost jet black hair. He had a big smile on his face, the kind of smile that can only be truly genuine, a rarity in the world she knew. And the best part, his gorgeous stormy gray eyes. She couldn't help but get lost in them as she looked at him with her mouth practically dropping to the floor. He felt eyes on him and looked around until he saw the cause of his slight discomfort. Seeing that she was just staring at him slack jawed, he smiled wider at her and waved, chuckling a little as her eyes got even wider. She blushed in embarrassment and waved awkwardly back while he walked up to her. Starting to panic, she looked in the car mirror to make sure she didn't look too disgusting but paused. _Why am I worrying how I look? I'm kind of dating someone right now._ Still, it couldn't hurt to make sure she looked good in case she and Zuko didn't work out. She shut the mirror as soon as he got to her car and rolled down her window.

"Hi, I'm Aang, Aang Feng," he said with a smile.

Katara tried not to blush, but she felt it creeping down from her face to her neck, "Um, hi," she said shyly. _Get a hold of yourself, Katara!_ She cleared her throat, "My name's Katara, Katara Rivers."

"Katara," he said slowly, making her love how her name on his lips sounded, "That's a beautiful name. Do you happen to be of Water Tribe descent?"

She nodded a little in surprise, "Yeah. How did you know that?"

"Well, it could be the fact that there's a hard 'K' in it. Or it could be your physical characteristics. Or both, I guess we'll never know," he joked lightly.

She giggled, "Yep, it'll always be a mystery," she smiled, "So, what brings you to Rivertown?"

He laughed, "I don't really know. I just needed to get away from my last town, and this place is just so beautiful, and I've always loved being around nature, so I figured I might as well come to a place that's quieter and will let me do my job easier."

"Your job?" she asked interestedly.

He rubbed his neck sheepishly, making her think how cute that little habit of his was, "Yeah, well, I kind of protect certain animals for a living. I would do it for free, but I do have bills to pay, so I appreciate what I can get. That's the main reason I'm here, there's a few birds in the forest behind my house that need to be protected, so my boss got me this house and I'll stay here to make sure that they survive and do well in their environment."

She couldn't help but be impressed. He seemed to be a great guy. Not only was he drop dead gorgeous, he was sweet and cared for others more than himself. "Well, let me be the first to welcome you to our town. I think you'll like it here," she stuck her hand out to shake.

He took it, but brought it to his lips to kiss it softly, "Yeah, I think I'll like it here, too," he said with a smile, causing her to blush heavily and her heart to start racing, "Thanks for the warm welcome. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to stop by."

"Okay. Bye, Aang," she smiled back happily and rolled up her window. When she tried putting her car back into drive, she was too giddy to figure out that she had put it in reverse as she stepped on the gas, making it shoot backwards and effectively making her scream as she slammed on the brakes. She saw him coming to check on her and rolled her window back down.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly as he ran up to her.

She blushed again but couldn't help but get a warm feeling from his obvious concern for her well-being, "I'm alright, I just put it in reverse accidentally. Sorry if I worried you."

Aang laughed a bit, "I'm only worried for your safety. Do you think you can make it back to your driveway without crashing?" he teased her gently.

Giggling and rolling her eyes, she gave him a reassuring smile, "Yeah, I should be able to handle it. I was just a little lost in the clouds for a second there."

"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow, "What were you thinking about?" he asked curiously.

"Uh, um, I…" she trailed off, trying to think of anything other than the truth.

Putting a hand on her shoulder, he gave her a reassuring squeeze and winked at her, "It's okay, Katara, you don't have to tell me. Just do me a favor and try not to do that again. It would be a shame to see such a pretty girl get hurt," he blushed when he realized what he said and rubbed the back of his neck again.

Her blush rivaled any she had before, making her hate herself for getting so worked up over this guy. _I'm not the giggly type. I'm the strong, independent type. Don't let him do this to you._ Still, as much as she wanted to fight it, it was hard to with his beautiful eyes so close staring right into hers. They were so deep, like you were staring into the very heart of a storm cloud, but they seemed to hold a small amount of sadness behind them. She wondered what had happened to him for those joyful pools to try to hide the sorrow that was hidden behind them. She was snapped out of her thoughts when she saw him waving his hand in her face. She shook her head wildly, "Sorry, what was that?"

He chuckled, "I was asking if you were okay. You seem to be a little out of it today, even if I have just met you. Are you sick? You don't look sick. Should I take you to a doctor?" he fussed over her.

Her heart warmed at his willingness to help her, "No, I'm fine, thank you. I guess I just had a long day at work," she partially lied.

"Okay then," he shrugged slightly and gave her another smile which melted her a little, "If you don't feel well, just come knock on my door. I'm pretty well-practiced for simple stuff like colds and such, but if it's not that, I would be more than willing to take you to a doctor. In fact," he paused as he took out a business card and handed it to her, "if you ever need anything at all, just call the number on that card and I will help you in any way I can. Maybe we can get a coffee sometime to get to know each other," he suggested.

She smiled, "Well, I would have to ask my boyfriend if it's okay first, but otherwise, yeah I would love to." She noticed his happy expression dropped for a split second when she mentioned that she had a boyfriend, but he resumed it so quickly, she wondered if she had just imagined it.

"Sure, just let me know at any time if you get the all clear. I'll see you around, Katara," he gave her one last smile and walked back to his house. She watched him go back to bringing boxes into his new home and sighed. If only she had met him before she had started dating Zuko, then maybe she would be dating him instead. _No point in worrying about that now, he probably doesn't even like me that way anyway. Now, I should probably get home and get some dinner_, she thought. Finally putting the car correctly in drive this time, she pulled into her driveway and made her way into the house. She sat down on the couch in her living room and ordered a pizza, feeling too tired to bother cooking. As she was about to turn on her TV, her phone started ringing in her pocket. She dug it out of her pocket along with Aang's business card. She smiled at the card and put it back in her pocket. It might just come in handy later. Finally looking at her phone, she saw that it was her best friend Yue. "Hello?" she answered.

"What's up, girl?" Yue asked happily.

Katara just laughed, "Not much, how about you?"

"Oh, other than seeing one of the most attractive men I've ever come across, not much else," Yue responded.

She raised an eyebrow, "Aren't you still dating my brother?" she questioned.

"Yeah," Yue admitted, "but that doesn't mean I can't notice when a new hot guy comes to town. Have you seen him yet? He looks like he's a male model."

"Well, that depends, what was he wearing?" Katara asked.

"Oh come on, Katara. We live right next to each other. If I saw him, you had to have seen him as well," she nagged her, "He was wearing an orange t-shirt that was _very_ see-through and blue jeans with orange sneakers. He had short black hair and a gorgeous smile. Ring any bells?" she asked sarcastically.

"Okay, that was him," Katara confirmed.

"Sooo, what do you think?" Yue asked excitedly.

She tried to feign ignorance, "What do you mean?"

"Come on, Katara, you know he's gorgeous. He's probably a great guy, too. You should go talk to him."

Katara smirked, "Two things Yue. One: If you're trying to set me up with him, I already have a boyfriend. Two: I've already talked to him," she admitted sheepishly.

Yue gasped loudly over the phone, making Katara cringe, "Okay, well now _I've_ got two things to say. One: You might have a boyfriend, but I can tell he doesn't make you that happy. You deserve someone who can actually make you happy, and not just somewhat happy. Two: Tell, me, everything."

"Well," Katara started, "I was driving home from work when I got to the neighborhood and saw his moving truck. I was curious and wanted to see who the new neighbor would be, but was shocked to see a gorgeous young guy there instead of an old man like I expected."

"And?" Katara could practically see Yue waving her hand for her to continue.

"Not a whole lot happened. He saw me gawking at him and decided to come over-" but was cut off.

"Ha! I knew you would think he was hot too!" Yue exclaimed proudly.

"So, what?" Katara asked, "I never denied it. Anyways, he came over and introduced himself. I introduced myself as well and we talked for a little bit. Turns out, he's a great guy who protects animals for a living and has the most genuine kindness I have ever seen in a person. He's really funny, too."

Yue squealed, "I knew it! Come on, Katara, just give him a chance. He would be way better for you than Zuko."

"Though that may be," Katara conceded, "it doesn't matter. He probably doesn't like me that way anyways, and I can't do that to Zuko."

"Why not?" Yue asked seriously, "You guys have only been dating for two months, it's not like you guys dated for a year or anything. I know you would rather be with this new guy. Hell. if I wasn't dating your brother, I would be all over that."

Katara laughed, "Well, I'm glad to know that you won't be breaking Sokka's heart anytime soon, but that doesn't mean I can just do that to Zuko. Even if by some miracle Aang did like me back, I would feel really bad about dumping Zuko for some guy I just met."

"Katara," Yue started, "You're my best friend and I love you, but your selflessness is _really_ annoying sometimes. You can't just sacrifice your happiness for some guy who probably only wants you for your body. Even if he really does like you, you should do whatever makes _you_ happy, and not him. I'm sure he would find a new girl very quickly and would be over you within a month. Don't let something as silly as that hold you back from true happiness, Katara. I won't allow it."

Katara smiled. She loved knowing she had people in her life who cared so much, "I'll tell you what Yue, if Aang and I somehow find our way to each other, then I'll break up with Zuko. Even if I already want to."

Yue let out a long sigh, "Fine, but you actually have to put in the effort to talk to the guy, otherwise you'll never find out if he does like you. Deal?"

"Deal," Katara agreed. There was a knock on the door, "Sorry Yue, my pizza's here and I need to go get it. I'll talk to you later." She hung up and grabbed the money from her purse and made her way to the door. She opened it and groaned at the familiar delivery boy, "Hello, Jet," she said unenthusiastically.

"Katara," he smiled and looked at her appreciatively, "has anyone ever told you that you have the body of a goddess?"

She just rolled her eyes, "No, and I'm glad that they haven't, because that's not very flattering, at least not when it's coming from you."

"Oh come on, Katara, I'm just being honest here," he tried to move closer to her, but she just pushed him back further.

"Well, don't," Katara stated bluntly, "I'm not interested, if I haven't made it blatantly obvious before. I have a boyfriend already, in case you hadn't noticed. Not to mention that you're a complete douchebag."

He rolled his eyes, "Oh please, I know you're not really interested in the guy. You probably just don't want to break his heart. All you have to do is say 'yes' and I'll give you the greatest night of your life, guaranteed."

"No, and that's final," Katara finally lost the small amount of patience she had for him, "Take the money and go away."

"I don't think so," Jet moved closer and grabbed her hands, dropping the bag that held the pizza on the ground, "This is my town, and I can do whatever I want. You're going to give me a good time, and you're going to enjoy every second of it." He attempted to lean in to kiss her, but before she could do anything, Jet came crashing down with a figure behind him.

Katara looked up in surprise to see Aang standing there and staring down angrily at him. He appeared to be trying to keep his cool, but didn't seem to be having much luck with it. Once he was sure that Jet was completely winded, he hoisted him up off the ground and held him against the wall, "Listen here, buddy. I'm not a violent man; I would much prefer to be friends rather than enemies, but trying to force yourself onto a girl who does not want you, let alone one who is already in a relationship, that is not something I can sit idly by and do nothing about. So I'll give you this warning, and I will only give it once: Stay away from her or you will have to deal with me. Are we clear?"

Jet sneered at him, "Who do you think you are, anyway? _I_ run this town, not you. My dad's the mayor of this place, I can do whatever I want. You don't want to make an enemy of me."

"You're right, I don't want to make an enemy of you," Aang admitted, taking Jet by surprise, "But that doesn't mean I won't. I'm not scared of you, whether your father is the mayor of the town or not. I wouldn't care if your dad was the leader of our _country_, because I will not let you harm anyone, least of all this nice, beautiful young lady right here," he spoke menacingly, making Katara blush at his choice of words.

"Who are you, anyway?" Jet asked suspiciously, "I've never seen you here before."

"I've just recently moved here," he pointed to the moving truck that was still parked in his driveway, "and you know what? It doesn't matter. Here's the deal, you will stop this nonsense. You will leave everyone alone, and you will _especially_ leave _her_ alone. As much as I would rather be friends and not fight, I can see in your eyes that you're not going to give up because of this. So, if you get within five feet of her ever again, you will have to deal with me. Understood?"

Jet just snickered, "And why should I be scared of you?" Before he could respond, he got out of Aang's grip and tried to swing a punch at him, but Aang dodged it quickly. Getting angry that his fist hadn't found it's target, he turned around and tried charging him once again, but failed again as Aang stuck a leg out and tripped him. Furious, he grabbed his pair of dual swords from his sides that he had which were no doubt illegal and turned to Aang, "Well, it looks like it's either surrender or die. And I think it's safe to say that you don't want to die. Stand down and I won't have to hurt you." Aang didn't budge, "Fine. Then I'll kill you myself." Jet charged at him one last time, but made the mistake of trying to swing at his enemy which allowed Aang to grab onto the handles of his swords as he ducked and yanked them out of his hands. Aang dropped the swords and airbended them away, making Katara and Jet gasp at the sight of it. Airbenders were rare to meet in the last several years. Many of them had been killed in an effort to kill the Avatar by the descendants of what was formerly known as the Fire Nation, but no one knew if the Avatar had gotten away or not. The ones responsible were hunted down and sentenced for their crimes, but the Avatar was never announced, so no one knew if he had survived or not. "Enough," Aang growled, "You're going to leave her alone, or I will report you to your father. How happy would he be if he found out his son tried to rape an innocent woman?" Jet looked down in defeat, "Yeah, that's what I thought. Leave and do not return." Jet got the pizza out of his delivery bag and took the money from Katara. Aang's eyes never left him until he was long gone down the road. He turned back to Katara with concern, "Are you okay?"

She smiled, "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks. Though I totally could have handled that on my own, just so you know."

He laughed nervously and rubbed his neck, "Yeah, sorry, I just saw him make you uncomfortable and I couldn't just stand around and do nothing. I didn't mean to offend you or anything."

"It's okay, I understand," she kissed him on the cheek, making his blush go deeper, "I appreciate it. Not a lot of guys would do what you did, not even my own boyfriend. He probably would have run at the sight of the swords," she admitted with a laugh.

"Wow, sounds like he needs to buck up a bit," Aang laughed as well, "Normally I don't make threats like that; It's against my people's culture, but I know about guys like him. They need to be shown someone stronger before they back down, but luckily I didn't have to hurt him. Even if I may have wanted to."

Katara couldn't help but get lost in his eyes again. He was such a good person; He helped others when he could have just continued on with his day, he protected endangered wildlife for a living, and he even knew how to put a smile on Katara's face. Then a question popped into her mind, "So, you're an airbender I guess, huh?"

"Yep, since the day I was born," he joked, making her giggle, "I used to live at a temple with other monks who wanted to live a different kind of life, but then something happened…" he trailed off sadly.

Katara wrapped him in a hug, "I know, I heard about what happened. I'm so sorry." He hugged her back and they held each other for several moments. She couldn't help but get a giddy feeling from being in his arms. Something about it just made her feel so safe and secure, like if anyone tried to mess with her, all she'd have to do is tell Aang and he'd blow them away on the wind he controlled. He had such a warm and inviting presence that made her heart pound furiously, and she found it hard not to lean up on her toes and kiss him with everything she had. As badly as she wanted to, she still had no idea how he felt about her, and she was still in a relationship, so she held herself back. After a few more moments, he pulled away from the hug, making her inwardly groan at losing the safe feeling of being in his embrace.

"Thanks, I really needed that," he said gratefully, "So, have you by chance asked your boyfriend about that coffee hangout? I'd like to get to know you more."

Katara though it over, "No, I haven't, but he doesn't control my life, and I'd like to get to know you more, too. How about I meet you tomorrow night at Nick's for some coffee at say, seven?" she asked hopefully.

Smiling, he nodded, "Yeah, that sounds great. I've heard from a couple of people I've met so far that they've got the best coffee in town."

"Yep, people even come in from other towns just to get coffee from there, so it's pretty good," she chuckled, "They even have their own special creation where instead of putting milk and sugar in it, they put salt mixed with chocolate into it."

Aang made a disgusted face, "I'm not one to argue against chocolate, but salt?" he asked incredulously.

Katara grinned, "Hey, don't knock it 'till you try it. It's actually not bad. Apparently it's supposed to be a 'Sweet and Salty' type drink, and it's pretty popular, too. You've got to try it."

"I don't know…" he responded uncertainly.

"Please," she begged him with big eyes, "I promise that you won't regret it," she said in a sing-song voice.

After a few more moments of silently staring into her big eyes, his willpower crumbled and he gave in, "Fine," he sighed, "But if I don't like it, you'll pay," he said playfully.

She just laughed, "Oh? How will I pay?" she played along.

"Well," he began with a grin, "I'll start by doing… this!" he laughed as he started tickling her stomach, catching her by surprise and making her laugh even more from shock. He tickled her mercilessly, making her fall to the ground with him on top of her, unrelenting in his pursuit to make her laugh as hard as she could.

She was quickly running out of breath, "Okay, okay! I… need… to… breathe!" she said between laughs. He finally let up and let her catch her breath as they both noticed the situation they were in. Aang had somehow ended up sitting on her lap with his face inches away from hers, making them both laugh nervously. As much as he wanted to look away, he couldn't help but get lost in her beautiful cerulean eyes. They were the color of the sky he used to fly so much in, the color of the tattoo he would have gotten if his people wouldn't have been hunted down and slaughtered like animals, and the color of the shirt that was on the beautiful girl beneath him. After a few more moments of staring wordlessly into each other's eyes, he reminded himself that she was taken. _Besides, why would a girl like her ever want to go out with a guy like me? _he thought sadly. Finally getting reason back into his brain, he got up and smiled sheepishly at her, "Sorry, I have a bad habit of tickle attacks against my friends," he apologized.

"It's okay," she responded shakily. It was becoming harder and harder for her to not do anything with him so close, she didn't know how much longer she could last without grabbing him by his shirt and yanking him to her lips. _Stop it, Katara._ She chided herself, _You still don't know if he likes you or not, so until then, you're still dating someone. Not yet. _Shaking her head slightly, she laughed, "I haven't had a tickle attack since I was little. Back when my mom was… alive..." she trailed off sadly.

He gave her another hug which she returned eagerly, happy to have that safe feeling again, "You don't have to talk about it," he told her, "I understand what you're going through. I lost my guardian who was like a father to me." He pulled back to look her in the eyes, "They may be gone, but they'll always be in our hearts, so they'll never truly be away from us. And I'll always be here for you, if you ever need someone to talk to."

A tear fell down her eye, and he wiped it away, "Thanks, Aang. I'm really glad you're here," she said gratefully.

"Me too," he smiled at her. He looked at his watch and saw what time it was. "Well, I suppose I should go. So we're still on for coffee tomorrow, right?" She nodded with a smile, "Good. I'm looking forward to it. Have a good night, Katara," he said as he started walking to his house.

"Goodnight, Aang," she waved as he walked back towards his house. She waited until she saw him get safely inside and sighed, "Of course he had to come here. Out of all the places in the world he could have gone, he came here." She looked angrily at the sky, "Is this some kind of joke, Spirits? Is this some kind of punishment by throwing the perfect guy in my face while I'm with someone else? If so, that's just cruel." When she received no answer, she sighed again and went back inside. Getting into her PJ's, she jumped into her bed and fell asleep with a smile on her face, thinking of the Airbender who had unintentionally stolen her heart.


	2. Chapter 2: The 'Date' part 1

Chapter 2: The "Date" Part 1

**Responses to Reviews: **

**AC139: You are absolutely right, but the reason why that is is because Kataang doesn't need to have fanfiction written because it's a little thing called cannon, which I am very happy about. Though I would love it if more people wrote for them. But I will be writing for a while, so if you like Kataang, keep an eye out for my future stories. I'm glad you like it so far. Thanks for reading and for the review! **

**AnonymousKataang: Thanks for reading! Also, the part about the hard K, you will most likely have read it in SubjectDeltaBubz story, which also happens to be my favorite story of his, "Royal Affairs" when Aang talks to Katara as they refill their drinks. I'm glad you like it so far. Thanks for the review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

* * *

The next day, Katara woke up from her alarm clock with a smile on her face. She had good dreams all night long, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly it was that was so good about them. Stretching and yawning in her bed, she tried to think about what was keeping her in a good mood when it hit her. The memories of the day before came flooding back. The new guy… Aang. Just the thought of his goofy grin when he would tell a joke made her heart flutter, but it also pained her a little. She was still dating someone after all, even if she definitely liked this new guy more. If anything was to happen between them, she would just have to wait and see if he returned her feelings. If not, then she would stay with Zuko, even if being with him didn't make her nearly as happy as when she would be with Aang. If nothing else, maybe she could get a new friend out of it. She got lost in the memory of when he hugged her the day before. His hugs felt so warm and inviting, like the shelter you find in the middle of a bad storm. Dependable, strong, safe, cozy, and warm. It had been a long time since she had felt a feeling like that from someone. The last time she felt that was when her father had left to go to war three years ago. He was a commander in the Military, and though being put on honorable discharge for PTSD, somehow ended up getting called back in. She hated the government for making her father return to his own personal hell just for the sake of their stupid war, but she knew there wasn't much any of them could actually do exccept pray to the spirits that he would make it back safely and hopefully not be in worse psychological condition than he had been before he left. Shaking these thoughts from her mind, she got up and got ready for the day. She had to go to work and then she would go have coffee with Aang at seven. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she was really excited about their little "date". Not that she didn't want to admit it because of him, but when she was around him, the self-assured, strong, confident woman she knew herself to be seemed to vanish into thin air when she saw him. Her confidence turned into mush, her defenses were let down, her walls that she put up since her mother had died crumbled into ashes as he smiled his beautiful smile at her. It was a little frightening how just one smile could make her be willing to do anything just to be able to see it again. She had never felt this way before. It was strange and unfamiliar, something she had never experienced in her life, but it was a good kind of different. Whatever it was that she was feeling, she would have to wait and find out. After all, she didn't know the guy very well. What if he had been lying about who he was? She thought it over and did not detect any deceit from him when she spoke with him the day before. He was too open and kind to be a liar. It just couldn't be a possibility, not the way he had acted the day before, she was sure of it. With that reassurance, she got dressed into her work clothes and put on her hard hat. She laughed a little at herself; She looked ridiculous with it on. It was three sizes too big for her head, but she either wore it and made money, or she would quit and have to try to find a new job. And right now, that wasn't an option. Taking one last look in the mirror, she grabbed her phone and made her way to her car. As she sat in the seat, her phone started ringing. Knowing it couldn't be Zuko because he would be asleep by now, she wondered who it was. Looking at it, she saw that it was Sokka. _Wow. Sokka's calling me? He probably broke something and needs me to fix it for him,_ she thought with an eye roll. "What do you want, Sokka?" she answered grumpily.

"Wow, what a warm welcome, sis," he responded sarcastically, "And here I was just calling to catch up, but I guess you just don't want to talk to me."

Katara sighed, "I'm sorry, Sokka, but you know how I am in the morning. It's the same way you are: Grumpy and tired," she laughed.

"Yeeaaaahhh," he drawled, "I guess you're right. So, how have you been lately? Have you broken up with that Zuko guy yet?" he asked hopefully.

She laughed a little and started driving to work while putting the phone on speaker, "No, not yet."

"Well, why not?" Sokka whined like a little kid, "He might be good looking, but I've seen you two together. He doesn't make you very happy, and I want you to be happy sis. You shouldn't just stick with a guy because you don't want to break his heart."

"I know, Sokka," she started, "but it's easier said than done. You've never had to break a girl's heart before."

"Neither have you," Sokka argued, "Just because I haven't done it doesn't mean I don't know how hard it is. I've been on the receiving end of break ups, after all, and that's way worse than being the one who dumped the other."

"Yeah, I get that," she admitted, "Even if it's never happened to me, I'm sure it sucks."

"Yeah, it does," he agreed sadly, "So, have you heard about the new guy in town? According to Yue, he's a male model," he added with some jealousy.

"Oh Sokka, relax," Katara chided him, "You know Yue loves you and isn't going to leave you for someone else. She cares about you too much for that."

"I know, I know," he said after a pause, "I can't really help it. I'm surprised she ever agreed to go out on a date with me in the first place, so when she says something like that, it makes me worry."

Katara smiled, "Well don't. You have nothing to worry about. And to answer your previous question, yes I actually met him yesterday. He seems to be really nice and is really funny and has one of the most beautiful smiles I've ever seen," she told him dreamily.

She heard him laugh loudly, "Wow, someone's in loooove," he teased her.

"Pffttt. What? I'm not- What makes you think-" she stuttered nervously.

He laughed even harder, "Oh, this is great. I don't think I've ever heard you talk about a guy like that before. One day in and you're already stuttering like a nervous school girl, huh?" he chuckled.

"Shut up, Sokka," Katara seethed at him, "Look, I'll admit, I do like him. A lot. But that doesn't mean that anything's going to happen. He probably doesn't even like me that way," she said a little sadly.

"Well, why wouldn't he?" Sokka asked in confusion, "You do have our family's looks after all, and when you're not being bossy, you can actually be cool and fun."

"Gee, thanks Sokka," she responded sarcastically, "I don't know, it just seems too good to be true. You know I have a hard time believing anything good can happen to me since Mom died."

There was no response for a second, "Yeah, I know Katara. That's what I used to think, too. But then I met Yue, and now I know that it's not true. I got an amazing girl who makes me very happy, and I was proven wrong. If the Spirits decided that I should be happy, I'm sure they want you to be happy, too. Don't give up on yourself, Katara, good things will come. I promise."

Katara just sat there in shock. It always amazed her how her brother could go from whining like a two year old one minute to speaking with the wisdom of an elder the next. "As much as I hate to say it, you're right Sokka," she joked.

"Ha ha, very funny," she could practically see him roll his eyes, "I'm right more than you think. Like the time I figured out who took the missing seal jerky back when we lived in the South Pole."

She rolled her eyes this time, "Sokka, that was when we were ten years old. It wasn't exactly that hard to figure out."

"It was too!" Sokka defended himself, "Everyone thought it was a polar-leopard! I was the only one who actually noticed that the tracks were too light to have come from one. If I hadn't seen Old Man Jarko wearing Polar-Leopard boots, we never would have figured out that he had taken it all!"

"Oh relax, Sokka," Katara laughed, "You know I'm just teasing you. Though if I'm being honest, a baby seal-lion could have figured it out," she poked fun at him.

"Oh, yeah? Well, why didn't you-"

"Alright, this has gone on long enough," Katara sighed exasperatedly, "Anyways, back to what we were talking about before, I do want to go out with him, but I have yet to find out if he likes me back. And as I said, I don't want to break Zuko's heart."

"Don't worry about Zuko, Katara. I know the guy. He dated every popular girl in his high school. Breaking up with him might be a minor blow to his ego, but he'll survive," he laughed, but got serious, "You can't sacrifice your own personal happiness for a guy that you're probably gonna end up breaking up with later anyway. I'm kind of surprised you went out with him in the first place. Fire and water don't mix, after all."

Katara shrugged, "What can I say? He was the best option on the market at the time, so I figured I would give him a shot. He's a nice guy, but I just don't feel a connection with him. Besides, sometimes he can be really gloomy, and that kind of bugs me. I shouldn't let that bother me, but when he's being such a downer, it starts to get kinda old."

"See? This is exactly what I'm talking about. You need someone who's _not_ a downer," he said pointedly, "And from what you described, it sounds like this new guy is pretty funny. I could get used to having another joker in the family."

Katara imagined him and Aang being best friends while making jokes at a Christmas party. The thought made her smile, "Yeah, I could see that. Though you might not be too happy when you realize that his jokes are funnier than yours," she teased.

"Ha! I'd like to see him try to beat me in a joke-off!" Sokka yelled defiantly.

"Sokka, calm down! You yelling while I'm driving isn't doing me much of a favor," she chided him, "Also, I wouldn't say "joke-off". It sounds a little too close to something else."

"What do you mean?" Sokka asked innocently.

Katara stifled a laugh, "Nothing, Sokka. Nothing. Have you heard from Dad at all lately? I hope he's doing okay," she attempted to change the subject.

"Not directly, no, but I've heard from a buddy of his that they're alright. He's not being put into the line of fire, he just has to look over maps and make plans of attack to try to make some headway."

"Good," Katara sighed in relief, "I was worried they might actually make him fight."

Sokka laughed, "Nope, they just want him to sit back and look at maps all day. Doesn't sound too bad if you ask me."

"I would have to agree." She pulled into the factory parking lot, "Alright Sokka, I just got to work. I gotta go. Don't go and get your head stuck in a snow tower again," she teased.

"Hey! That was one time!" he complained.

Katara snickered, "Yep, and I'll never forget it until the day I die. See ya later, Sokka." She hung up and looked at the time. Somehow, she always managed to get there early, even if she was slowed down by her annoying brother. Needing her daily dose of caffeine, she got out of her car and went over to the little coffee stand that was put inside the building. She was good friends with the barista there. Haru had been a good friend of hers since she moved to town, but she could tell that he had a crush on her. Luckily for her, she had the excuse of having a boyfriend at the ready if he ever tried to ask her out, but so far she hadn't had to use it. Hopefully, it would stay that way. "Hey Haru, can I get one caramel frappe, please?" she asked as she got to the counter.

He smiled, "Sure thing. One caramel frappe coming up!" Haru did a little dance as he made her coffee, making her laugh at his silliness. When it was finally done, he brought it over to her, "Here you go, Katara, it's on the house."

"Thanks Haru," she said gratefully, "Well, I should get going. I've got work and all."

She started walking away when he called, "Hey Katara, wait!"

Freezing in place, she put on a fake smile and turned around, fearing what she thought was going to happen, "Yeah, Haru?" she said politely.

"Well," he started nervously while looking at his feet, "I was wondering if maybe… you might like to go on a date with me sometime?" he asked hopefully.

Katara frowned slightly. She knew that this was going to happen, but she still hated that she would have to break the poor guy's heart, "I'm sorry, Haru, but I've already got a boyfriend," she told him awkwardly.

"Oh," he said sadly, "I understand."

She put a hand on his shoulder, "But if you're looking for a date, my friend Toph is in between boyfriends right now, so maybe I could set something up?" she tried to put out an olive branch.

"Toph?" he asked incredulously, "As in _the _Toph Beifong? The richest girl in town? How do you know her?"

Katara laughed at his excitement, "She's a good friend of mine. I met her while my brother was out shopping for meat and had made me come with him. Apparently, she had also been shopping for meat and she and my brother hit it off really well. They even dated for a little bit, but she decided to break up with him after a few months. Anyways, if you want, I could set you up."

He nodded eagerly, "Yeah, could you please? That would be great!"

"Sure," she couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, "I'll text you once I've set everything up. But you should know before hand that she is… not your average girl. She likes to pick on people, she is very proud and likes to eat lots of meat, and is in a constant state of sarcasm. Does that sound good to you?"

"Yeah!" he responded enthusiastically, "She sounds kind of tough, but I like a challenge."

"Good," Katara smiled, "Then I'll set it up. I'll see ya later, Haru." She finally walked away and sighed in relief. At least now he would be off her back. _Who knows? Maybe he and Toph will hit it off_, she thought cheerily. Shaking her head, she got back to work and prepared herself for the long day ahead.

* * *

Aang was exhausted. He had spent all night unpacking his things, and hadn't even gotten half way through. _For a monk, you sure have a lot of stuff, it seems_, he chided himself. Though, he couldn't really be considered a monk anymore, he supposed. There was no way he could be a monk anymore, not after having met Katara. Even if he had just met her and she had a boyfriend, just the interaction he had with her convinced him that he wanted someone to love, even if it couldn't be her. He would still do all the other practices his people had taught him, but this was one thing he could not agree on. When he had met Katara, something inside of him seemed to have been woken up. Like he had been asleep on the inside until he met her, and her beautiful voice had woken him up from a hundred year slumber. There was something about her that drove him a little wild. The way her giggles sounded like chiming bells, the way her playfulness matched his, how kind and caring she was, but she was also obviously just as much of a fighter as she was a lover. He had never met a girl like her in his life, and it pained him to know that he would never be able to win her heart. Still, maybe he could at the very least be friends with her. That would have to be enough, he decided. Taking a look around, he wondered how he had gotten himself into this situation in the first place. _Oh yeah, when I lost it when Gyatso was killed._ Gyatso had been like a father to him. He had trained him to be a master airbender, helped him when his peers wouldn't let them play with them as a child because he was the Avatar, and was his anchor in the stormy mess that was being the Avatar. And all it took was one beserk Firebender to snuff his life out, making Aang's whole world come crashing down. The one man who had shown genuine care for him, who treated him like the son he never had. _I miss you, Gyatso. I hope you're doing well in the Spirit World. Make sure to throw some more pies onto the monks for me until I get there_, he thought with a laugh. He decided he needed to get back to work, no matter how tired he was. After a few more hours of unpacking, he finally got everything finished up and flopped down onto his couch for a quick nap. A few hours later, he woke up feeling more refreshed than before. Looking at the time, he saw that he had three hours until he would meet Katara for coffee and decided he should take the moving truck back and collect his car. Taking as fast of a shower as possible, he grabbed the truck keys and made his way over to the next town where he had moved from. Luckily for him, it was only ten miles away, so it wouldn't take him much time to get there. When he finally arrived, he parked the truck expertly right where it had been and went inside to the U-haul. He was greeted by a familiar voice, "Well, welcome back, young pupil. I see you've finished moving."

Aang smiled and bowed, "Master Pakku, it's great to see you again. Though it's only been a day, so I can't say it's been a while."

Pakku chuckled, "I suppose you're right, young Avatar." He seemed to realize what he said and looked around to make sure no one was around, letting out a sigh of relief, "That was too close."

"You know," Aang started with a grin, "for a wise master, you're not very good at keeping secrets, it seems," he teased him.

"It seems so," Pakku laughed good naturedly, "I'm usually pretty good about it, but I guess old age tends to do that to you. So, I take it you're not here for another waterbending lesson?"

Aang laughed and dangled the truck keys between his fingers, "Nope, last time I checked, you had said that I mastered waterbending. Unless you changed your mind?" he joked as he se the keys on the counter.

"No, you're all set. You've even taught _me_ something," Pakku admitted sheepishly.

"What did _I _teach _you_?" Aang asked in amazement.

"You taught me that all people who can should be able to learn waterbending," Pakku said gratefully, "And by changing my mind on that, I have won back the love of my life, Kanna. I'll never forget what you did for me, Aang."

Aang grinned and clapped him on the shoulder, "Well, I'm happy for you, Pakku. I know it can be hard to break tradition, but times change. Not to mention that it's completely unfair to judge whether someone should be able to do something based off the color of their skin or what kind of body parts they have. I'm glad you were able to win the girl you love."

"Speaking of girls, any ones that catch your eye yet?" he asked mischievously

Aang laughed nervously, "Um, there's this one girl I met yesterday, but she's dating someone and she probably wouldn't like me that way even if she wasn't."

Pakku frowned, "Well, what makes you think that? You're a good-looking young man who knows how to make people laugh, not to mention one of the kindest people I've ever met. Why wouldn't a girl like you?" he asked.

Aang shrugged, "I don't know, I just feel like I'm not someone who can find love easily. After losing Gyatso, it feels like the world's just out to get me, so I doubt that I'm just going to be able to get a girl to like me all of a sudden."

Pakku put a hand on his shoulder, "Aang, just because you lost one person you love doesn't mean that the world's out to get you. I used to think that too when Kanna ran away from me. But look at me now! We've found our way back to each other, and I couldn't be happier. The world isn't out to get you, Aang. Don't let thinking like that ruin a possible chance of finding love. Now, what's her name?"

"Katara," he responded after a moment of silence, "Katara Rivers." He became surprised when Pakku burst out laughing, "What's so funny?" he asked curiously.

After a few moments, Pakku finally settled down and grinned at him, "I'm sorry, it just seems you have a crush on my step-granddaughter."

Aang's jaw dropped, "What?!" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes, Katara Rivers is my step-granddaughter. She is Kanna's granddaughter, so that makes her related to me by law. Is there a problem with that?" he asked playfully.

"No, no," Aang reassured him with a smile, "I just wasn't expecting that is all. Well, she's an amazing woman. I've never met a girl like her."

Pakku smirked, "You obviously haven't met her temper yet, but if you can get past that, then it shouldn't be a problem."

Aang grinned, "I've gotten a taste of it, but I'm sure she's got a decent one." He looked down sadly, "Not that it matters anyway, she's seeing someone." Walking around the counter, Pakku smacked him on the back of the head, making Aang yelp, "What was that for?"

"That was for giving up so easily." Pakku told him seriously, "Do you think If I had just given up with Kanna that I would be with her right now? I have waited for years now, and even if it took most of my life to get her back, it was worth it. Don't give up just because she's dating someone she's probably not going to be dating for much longer."

He raised an eyebrow, "What makes you say that?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, what _doesn't_ make me say that is more of a question you should be asking," Pakku chuckled, "I've met the guy she's dating. He's not very bright, he is a firebender while she's got the attitude of a firebender when it comes to things she cares about, so they're bound to blow up eventually, and the rest of the time when she's not defending stuff she cares about, she is like her element. And we all know fire and water don't mix. I give her two more months before she breaks up with him, guaranteed."

Aang didn't want to admit it, but what Pakku said gave him a little hope. Maybe… maybe he could have a chance with Katara after all, "Thanks Pakku, that actually helps a lot. You would be okay with me dating your step-granddaughter?" he asked suspiciously.

Pakku grinned and clapped him on the shoulder, "Of course I would, Aang. You're the only young man I would _ever_ want to have my granddaughter date. You're like a son to me."

"Well, you're like a father to me," Aang grinned back, "But I have to be honest, I already have two other father figures in my life as well. I hope that's okay with you," he joked lightly.

"Iroh's like that to you as well, hmmm?" Pakku asked with an amused smile, "I'm sure he would love to hear that. He's always treated his nephew like a son since he lost his own, but I'm sure he would be more than happy to adopt another one."

"Probably," Aang agreed, "Though he'll always love his son the most. I miss Lu Ten, he was a great guy to hang out with."

"He was. But that's just what comes with life. You never know when your time's going to come, so you can't waste a second of it," Pakku said sagely.

"I would agree with you, but I know what you're wanting me to do," Aang sighed, "I can't try to take her while she's dating someone, especially if she doesn't feel that way about me. It would ruin a friendship that literally just started _yesterday_. Not to mention how horrible I would feel if I stole her away from some poor guy."

Pakku sighed as well, "I understand, Aang, and I'm proud that you know right from wrong. I'm not saying that you have to steal her away from him, just get to know her more. Be her friend and let fate decide if you two are meant to be. If given the opportunity, tell her how you feel and see what happens. The absolute worst thing that can happen is that you remain friends with a little awkwardness that will eventually pass. Trust me, you will only regret it if you do nothing."

Aang nodded, "You're right. I'll wait it out for a little bit, but I will tell her how I feel eventually." He looked at the time, "Wow, we talked for two hours. I gotta get going, I've actually got a little meet-up with her tonight for some coffee."

Pakku grinned slyly, "I thought you weren't trying to steal her away?" he teased.

"I'm not," Aang reassured him, "This is just a friend date to get to know each other more. It would be nice, if nothing else, to have some friends there." He bowed to him again, "It was great talking to you again, Master Pakku. I'll see you some other time."

Pakku waved as he walked out, "Don't be a stranger! Come visit sometime! And bring Katara along with you!" he teased one last time as Aang looked back and smiled.

"See ya later, Pakku!" he yelled back and shut the door, shaking his head at his master, "Bumi might have been a crazy master, but at least he didn't encourage me to steal someone else's girl," he said out loud with a laugh, "Well, I've got a "date" to go to and I should probably freshen up a bit before then. He made his way to his car that had the keys in the ignition and went home to get ready for his "date".

* * *

A buzz went off and the next shift of people took their positions as the last shift left quickly. Katara was excited to get out of there, for more reasons than one. Even if this wasn't going to be an actual date, she still would get to hang out with him and get to know him more, so she would take what she could get. She got into her car and started driving back home. As she was almost there, she got a call from Zuko, "Hey," she answered without emotion.

"Hey Tara, how was work?" Zuko asked, repeating the same conversation they had every day except on weekends, which was basically the only time they actually spent time together because of their jobs. Not that she really minded, of course.

"Same as usual," she responded, "It's pretty much the same thing everyday."

"Well… that's good I guess," he said awkwardly, "So, another night of eating alone at home? I wish I could be there for you, but I've got a job too."

"It's alright," Katara shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant in an effort to hide her excitement, "I'm actually going to hang out with a friend tonight, so it won't be a problem."

Zuko was silent for a moment, "Since when did you get a friend?" he asked.

Katara rolled her eyes, "I have friends, Zuko, it's just hard to sync up time together because of our jobs. And this one's a new one. He just moved here yesterday and I figured I would give him a warm welcome and get to know him since he's going to be my new neighbor."

"Oh, it's a he, is it?" Zuko asked with jealousy, "I'm not allowing you to go."

"Excuse me?" Katara asked incredulously, "Last time I checked, you're not in charge of me. I can hang out with my friends anytime I want to, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"I don't care, Tara, I'm your boyfriend and I don't want you hanging out with some new guy. You're my girlfriend, I have a say in what you do," he retorted.

Katara started getting angry, "Zuko, just because you're my boyfriend doesn't mean you can tell me not to hang out with someone or _anything else_ like that. That's not how it works. He's just a friend, and you're being absolutely ridiculous. I'm not a cheater and you know that."

His anger was rising just as much, "Yeah, I know that, but I also know that all it takes is one smooth talker to walk in and steal someone else's girl!" he yelled.

"Oh, and how do you know that, Zuko?" Katara yelled back, "I know! Because that's exactly what you did to Sokka when he was with Toph!" Zuko was silent. "Yeah, you think I didn't figure it out? It was pretty damn obvious. Not even one week after she broke up with him, she was dating you. It's not exactly a mystery Zuko."

Zuko was silent for another moment, "Does he know?"

"No, but he really should," Katara said angrily, "The only reason I haven't told him is because he already had gotten his heart broken enough when Toph dumped him, otherwise I would have told him everything." She took a deep breath, "Look Zuko, you know I like you," she lied, "but you can't just assume I'm going to stop hanging out with a friend who just so happens to be a guy because of you being jealous of a guy who you don't even know what his name is. I'm not going to give up hanging out with my friends because you don't know how to keep a girlfriend."

"Well, maybe I- I would be able to if- I'm not the problem here!" Zuko started yelling again, "At least _I'm_ not going out with a "friend" while my boyfriend is going to work. That doesn't sound suspicious to you at all?"

"You know what, Zuko?!" Katara yelled, "I'm an adult. I have the legal right to do whatever I want. I don't know why you're being so mistrustful all of a sudden, but I'm not going to cheat on you. I don't know where you got that crazy idea, but I would suggest getting it out of your head right now!"

"I wouldn't have to be mistrustful if you would just not go hang out with some new guy who is super good looking!"

"Aha!" Katara yelled in triumph, "So the truth comes out! You're jealous of him!"

"I am not!" Zuko yelled back defiantly, "I just don't want a new guy in town to take you away from me!"

"You should just be able to trust me!" Katara practically screamed at him, "I've never _once_ done anything to suggest that I would cheat on you! Now, all of a sudden that I make a friend that's not a girl, you think I'm just going to cheat on you?!" Before he could respond, she ended the call and threw her phone back on her seat. "Ugh, it amazes me when the now second-best available guy in town turns out like this. It makes me feel bad for other girls. At least I _might _have a chance with an actual good guy," she said angrily to herself. Shaking her head, she finally pulled into her driveway and put on a happy face. She would need to get into a happy mood if she was going to enjoy her time with Aang, which she really wanted, hell, _needed_ to at this point. As she got to her porch steps, she noticed a package that had been left on the ground for her. Curious, she picked it up and looked at a note that was written on it, "Katara, I'm glad that I'm going to get to know you more, and I hope it's not too soon in our friendship, but I saw this and couldn't help but think of you. I hope you like it. See you at seven. Aang." She smiled and brought it inside. Getting out a pair of scissors, she carefully opened it and brought out a smaller blue box. It had the symbol of the Water tribes on it and appeared to be a jewelry box. Getting excited, she gasped as she opened it to find a beautiful pair of blue sapphire earrings. The sapphires were huge, and she wondered if they were fake. Taking a closer look at the box they had come in, the inscription read, "Water Tribe Jewelry TM: One hundred percent real quality gems and metals for your special someone" making her blush at what that indicated. No longer needing to fake a happy mood, she noticed a note that was on the inside of the box. It read, "I hope you like them. I saw them at a store in the town over while I dropped off my moving truck and thought instantly of your beautiful eyes, but I can't say these sparkle as much as yours do. If you don't like them, I left you the receipt in the package. See you later, Aang." She stared at the note and couldn't help but be amazed. Not only had he gotten her an expensive pair of earrings, he actually made sure to give her the gift receipt in case she didn't like them. She had never heard of such thoughtfulness before. Not even from her own boyfriend. The most expensive thing he had gotten her was a new pair of sneakers when her old ones had gotten worn out from working so much. Smiling widely, she put the earrings back into the box and made her way upstairs to get ready. She took a quick shower and blew out her hair with a hair dryer. Picking out a sapphire colored dress to go with her new earrings, she put it on and brushed out her hair. Knowing that this was still a friend date, she couldn't stop herself from putting on a little lipstick just to throw the look together. Last but not least, she put on her earrings and admired the way they shone in the light of the mirror. Even if she didn't know how he felt about her, she could at the very least make him drool a little. Satisfied with how she looked, she put on some matching high heels and made her way out for her "date". What she didn't know was that a lone figure was watching her from a tree in the nearby park. "_Just a friend_, huh?" Zuko mocked, "Let's see where this goes."


	3. Chapter 3: The 'Date' Part 2

Chapter 3: The "Date" Part 2

**Hey guys! Real quick, I just wanted to let you guys know that for most of the stories I write, they're not going to be long ones. There will be some long ones, but there will definitely be more shorter ones than long ones. I also would like to apologize for TSR seeming rushed, I guess it kind of was, but I wanted to get started on other projects, and it seemed like I could get it finished in a good way that didn't draw it out too long. I should have just taken my time with it, but my rule used to be only one story at a time. Although I thought that rule was a good idea at the time, if I had let myself work on another project at the same time, I likely would have had the patience to make TSR longer and better, so I'll probably start working on more than one story at a time and not rush them anymore. Rest assured, each story I do will not be abandoned and will still be updated frequently, but I have a lot of ideas that I would like to get through and am always open to new ideas if anyone knows what they would like to read as long as it's Kataang. I should also mention real quick that I like to drop little easter eggs in my stories that I borrow from other writers on this site from time to time if I feel the situation calls for it. Some are even from the actual show, for example in the last chapter there's one that's slightly paraphrased, but otherwise is from the show. If you can figure out what these easter eggs are and which stories they're from, then good for you. If not, then don't sweat it. It's all in good fun, and these easter eggs are from some of my favorite stories, so if you can figure out where I got them from, then that's great! Anyways, thanks for reading this long introduction and I hope you guys enjoy! **

**Responses to Reviews: **

**AnonymousKataang: Ha, sorry to leave you hanging, but that's one of the ways that writers keep people interested in a story or a show, so I couldn't resist. By the time I'm done writing, I will be well-known for my famous cliffhangers. Though I don't have the heart to end a story on a cliffhanger (at least not yet, I might change my mind if I decide that I want to do a sequel for a story). You're right, the rest of the chapter was definitely slower, but I'm trying to show the "calm before the storm", because there **_**will**_** be a storm soon. The spat between Katara and Zuko is just the beginning, so if you're waiting for things to pick up, then it's not too far along. I'm glad you remember about "Royal Affairs". Throughout my stories as mentioned above, if I see an opportunity to drop little snippets from some of my favorite stories or from the show into my own, then I most definitely am going to. Thanks for reading and for the review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. **

* * *

"_Just a friend_, huh?" Zuko mocked, "Let's see where this goes." Zuko had never been the mistrustful kind of person. He knew that Katara was a great girl who could be trusted, but she seemed to be drifting farther and farther apart from him lately. They had never been very close, but it had just gotten worse since the new guy had come to town, and he didn't like it. Not one bit. He liked Katara a lot, but it didn't seem like she felt the same. It was pretty obvious how she spoke to him over the phone. She didn't sound happy when she talked to him; She sounded like she was dealing with a friend who talked to her too much and wanted some space. He didn't know what he did for her to act like that, but he wasn't going to just give her up without a fight. If this new guy thought he could take her away from him, he had another thing coming. Getting into his car as she got into hers, he waited until she had passed him and followed her with a distance to make sure she didn't recognize his car. She had said that she was just going to meet the guy for coffee, but why would she need to go meet him for coffee to get to know him? What was so important about this neighbor that she took a special interest in him enough to go out of her way to get to know him if she wasn't interested in him that way? He had many questions and no answers, so he figured that the only way he would get some was if he spied on their little meeting. It might be a little stalker-ish, but he had to make sure he wasn't going to lose her, even if she hadn't been showing him much interest since they had started dating. Hell, the only time he had gotten to kiss her was on the cheek at the end of their first date. Every time he tried to kiss her on the lips or her hand, she would pull away and make an excuse that she would have to go because she remembered that she agreed to do something for someone else. It was getting really old, but she was the most beautiful and nice girl in town, so he didn't want to give her up. She finally pulled up into the parking lot of Nick's cafe. He decided to park across the street and watched her go in. One of the perks about being rich: You get to do whatever you want. Everyone has a price, after all, and money was no object for him and his family, even if his father made him get a job. Watching her walk inside, he decided to go up into a tree with the scope he had brought to see what they would be doing. It would be a long night it seemed.

* * *

Katara pulled up to Nick's with a smile on her face. She parked and took one last look in the mirror, admiring the new sapphire earrings that gleamed in the moonlight. She still couldn't believe that someone she had just met the day before would get her such an expensive gift, but she supposed she shouldn't be too surprised. Aang was unlike any man she had ever met before, so something like this really shouldn't have surprised her. Still, just the thought that he spent time and _lots_ of money to buy these beautiful earrings for her made her surprised. Happy, but very surprised. She didn't know many friends that would just get their other friends expensive jewelry that they had just met the day before. _Maybe that means he _does_ like me_, she thought hopefully, _Or, he could just be really nice and wants to make sure he at least has one friend here. _Then a question popped into her mind, _Where did he get the money to buy this?_, she wondered. Shaking her head, she decided it didn't matter. What _did_ matter was that he had decided to do a nice thing for her, and she would have to give him a proper thank you. Thinking of ways to see where she stood in his life, she got an idea that would not only thank him, but could possibly tell her if he did feel the same. _Two birds with one stone_, she thought with a smirk. Checking her hair one last time in the mirror, she got out and went into the cafe. It was surprisingly slow tonight. Usually it was busier at night than during the day, but of course was busiest in the morning. Not that she was complaining though, it would give her and Aang more choices of where they wanted to sit. _Speaking of Aang…_ she thought as she saw him waiting for her at the front of the cafe. She gasped a little as she looked at him. He wasn't dressed up as much as she was, but he still looked _really_ good. He wore a nice dark gray long-sleeve button-up shirt that matched his eyes along with light blue jeans and a pair of black dress shoes. His short hair was slicked back with gel and he looked like he had just gotten out of a photoshoot. She could feel a little drool escape her mouth, making her blush in embarrassment. Luckily for her, he didn't seem to notice. He seemed to be lost in texting someone on his phone. Walking up to him, she shyly said, "Hi, Aang."

Looking up from his phone, his mouth nearly dropped to the floor. "Wow," he breathed, making her giggle at his reaction, "You look beautiful. Though I've got to ask, why are you so dressed up? This is just coffee after all. It's not like I'm taking you to the Queen's ball or anything," he joked.

"Well," she started bashfully, "I just wanted to look nice is all. I rarely get to go out with my friends, so I wanted to dress up a bit."

Aang smiled, "Well, no complaints here. You look like you could be a model," he blushed as he realized what he said.

She blushed as well, "Thanks. You don't look half-bad yourself," she smiled, "You want to get some coffee?" He nodded and they made their way to the front. There was no one in line, so they would be able to order without waiting. A bell sat on a counter along with a note that read "Ring for service." Aang made a big show of bringing his hand up and throwing it back down quickly before slowing down just enough to avoid breaking it as he rung the bell, making Katara laugh at his antics.

Soon enough, a familiar old man came from around the corner, "Welcome to Nick's Cafe, what can I get for you today?" he asked tiredly as he rubbed his eyes.

"Iroh?" Aang gasped. Katara looked at him in confusion, but decided to wait it out to see if she would get the answers to the questions that had formed in her mind.

Iroh looked at him sleepily, but smiled widely when he finally recognized him, "Aang! So good to see you! It's been what, a year?"

"No, Iroh," Aang chuckled, "It's been two days. Remember, I stopped by your house to say goodbye before I left?" he asked with a grin.

"Oh yeah," Iroh laughed heartily, "Forgive me, I cannot think quite right when I am tired." He noticed Katara standing there, "I see you're on a date. Good job, my friend. She is very attractive," he winked at Aang.

"No, no," Aang responded quickly while waving his hands, "We're not on a date. She's got a boyfriend. We're just getting some coffee and getting to know each other since I'm her new neighbor."

Iroh didn't look convinced, "Oh, forgive me for my misunderstanding," he apologized, "I should not have assumed that you were on a date, even if you are both pretty dressed up for a friendly outing."

They both blushed and Katara chuckled nervously, "Yeah, probably not the best idea, but I just wanted to dress up more than normal for once," she lied.

"Mhhmm" Iroh hummed, still unconvinced, but decided to let it go. "So," he turned his attention back to Aang, "how are you liking it here? Isn't it as beautiful as I described to you?"

Aang nodded with a smile, "It is. The whole town is beautiful. Some parts of it more than others," he cast a quick side glance at Katara that only Iroh caught, making him laugh at Aang's lack of subtlety.

"Of course, of course. And how about your new job?" Iroh asked, knowing full well there was no job, but knew that they had to keep up the pretense, "Have you had much luck in protecting the animals you have been assigned to?"

"Yeah, they are doing just fine right now," Aang lied just as well, "I've made sure that they are close enough to a freshwater source and have the means to get food and good shelter to protect them. I'll have to check on them here and there everyday, but as long as I keep an eye on them, I'm sure they'll be just fine."

Iroh patted him on the back, "Well, good for you, young man. I'm glad to hear that you finally got a job that you like doing." He paused, "As much as I would love to keep this conversation going, I do not want to waste your night together," he smiled as they both blushed again, "So, what can I get for you guys?"

Katara spoke politely, "One caramel frappe, if you don't mind."

"Of course not," Iroh responded pleasantly, "And for you, Aang?"

Katara answered for him, "He'll have your 'Sweet 'N Salty' coffee, please." Aang looked like he was going to object, but she stared him down, "You promised, remember?"

"Yeah," he admitted, "but that was yesterday when you gave me those big eyes. Now it's today, and I don't know if I want to try it."

"Please," Katara stuck out her bottom lip and made her eyes go wide.

"Katara…" Aang sighed.

"Please Aang, just this once," she practically begged as she walked closer to him. "Please…"

After a few seconds of an internal battle as he stared into her eyes, the part that would do anything to make her smile won out. "Fine," he sighed again, "I'll try it."

She smiled widely, "Thank you, Aang. You won't regret it," she promised as she kissed his cheek, leaving a lipstick print and making him blush deeply.

Iroh couldn't help but chuckle, "You know, for two people who claim to not be on a date, you sure act like a couple," he teased.

Aang laughed nervously, "We're not on a date, Iroh, I promise. We're just two neighbors trying to get to know each other."

Iroh noticed something that Aang hadn't: Everytime Aang denied them being on a date or being a couple, a sad look would cross over her face for a split second, but would just as quickly go back to normal. If he hadn't spent years learning to read other people's emotions, he would have just dismissed it as a trick of the light, but he knew better. They might not have been on a date, but Iroh would bet his lifetime supply of tea that Katara wanted it to be one. "Of course, forgive me. I do not mean to offend. I'll have your coffees up for you as quickly as possible." He tried to excuse himself but Aang stopped him.

"Um, Iroh, don't we have to pay first?" Aang asked curiously.

Iroh turned around and smiled, "Not for you, my friend. You are like family to me, so these are on the house. Go sit down and get comfortable, I will bring them out to you shortly," he urged.

Aang smiled and nodded as he and Katara sat down across from each other in a booth. "So," he started, "why don't you tell me a little about yourself? I mean, besides what you told me about yourself yesterday," he laughed.

"Of course," she smiled, "Obviously, you know that I'm a descendant of the Water Tribes, but I don't think I told you that I'm also a Waterbender from the South Pole." He shook his head. "Well, I am and I grew up there until I turned thirteen. My dad got an offer from the Military here to lead a platoon into war for a good amount of money, which he apparently couldn't refuse. We moved here and have been in this town ever since."

"Interesting," Aang said thoughtfully, "What was it like in the South Pole? I've only been to the North one."

Katara raised an eyebrow, "You've been to the North Pole? How did you get there? The only way to get there is if you're a waterbender or if you can fly."

"Well, I _am_ an Airbender after all," Aang laughed, "But as a former Nomad, we had flying bison that would take us all around the world. They were our main mode of transportation besides our gliders."

She looked at him in amazement, "You had flying Bison?"

He laughed a little, "Yeah, we did. I actually still have one, but I wasn't allowed to bring him with me to the neighborhood, so I'm keeping him at the stables just out of town. I go to visit him every day."

"What's his name?"

"Appa," he said with a smile, "He's my best friend. We used to go all over the world before things changed. We didn't get to go _everywhere_, but we got to see a lot of different and unique places. If you want, I could show you him sometime," he offered.

"I would love that," she beamed, "I've never seen a flying Bison before."

"Yeah, you probably haven't," he agreed, "There used to be a lot of them before my people were attacked. The sick monsters responsible for some reason decided that innocent animals needed to be harmed as well. Appa's one of the few that has survived so far."

Katara looked at him sadly and put a hand on his, "I'm so sorry, Aang."

He shrugged and looked out the window, "It was a long time ago…"

"Doesn't mean it doesn't still hurt sometimes," she responded sadly, knowing just what kind of pain he was going through. Though she had to admit, he had it worse than her. Losing her mother was awful, but almost losing her entire people… that was a pain she couldn't begin to imagine having to go through.

"Exactly," he smiled sadly, "But even if it does hurt, it's worth it to feel the pain if it means that I can remember them. Like I said, they might be gone, but they'll never truly be away because they'll always be in our hearts." They sat there in a comfortable silence for a second before Aang's body rumbling told him he needed to use the restroom. "If you'll excuse me for a moment, my friend here says he needs to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back."

Katara giggled, "Alright, well tell your "friend" to hurry up. I want to get to know you more," she smiled.

He smiled back, "Of course, I'll be right back." He walked off quickly to go use the restroom.

As soon as he was out of sight, she let out a long sigh. This "date" was going very well. Almost too well. It was getting harder and harder for her to not do anything. He understood completely what she had gone through as a child, having gone through essentially the same thing, and made the best out of his situation, no matter how bleak it might have seemed. He didn't let his past get to him, he just kept pushing forward, but he never forgot to remember the ones he loved that he had lost. There was a wisdom in his eyes that a man his age should not have, but he did. She felt a strong connection to him, something she had never felt with anyone else before, least of all with her current boyfriend. She shuddered a little as she was reminded of her boyfriend. She still hadn't forgiven him for calling her a cheater. Even if she decided she no longer wanted to be with Zuko, she would have broken up with him first before she went out with someone else. It went against her very being to do something so dishonorable as to cheat on someone. She would rather die than hurt someone so badly like that. As she was so wrapped up in her thoughts, she was shaken out of them as Iroh put down their drinks in front of her, "Here you go, my dear. One Caramel Frappe and one Sweet 'N Salty coffee."

She smiled up at him, "Thank you Mr. Iroh. If they taste as great as they smell, then we will enjoy them very much."

He chuckled, "It's my pleasure, young lady. Let me know if you need anything else."

"Um, actually," she started nervously before he could walk away, "You seem to be a very wise man. I was wondering if maybe you could give me some advice?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course. Though I would not call myself wise, I will help with what I can," he promised and took a seat, "Now, what is on your mind?"

"Well," she started nervously, "I just have a little problem that I don't really know how to fix." He motioned for her to continue, "It's just that… I kind of like this guy… but I'm already dating someone else. I don't know what to do. I don't want to break the guy I'm dating's heart, but I don't really have feelings for him anymore. I also don't know what to do about the guy I _do_ have feelings for. We're just starting to have a friendship, but I'm worried that I'll ruin it if he doesn't feel the same. Do you have anything that might help me?"

Iroh stroked his beard in thought, "Well, for your first problem, I can offer you a simple solution. It likely isn't fair to the person you are currently dating to keep leading him on if you are no longer interested in pursuing a relationship with him. Perhaps if you tell me who he is, then maybe I can help you figure out the best way to let him down easy."

Katara shifted uneasily in her seat, "His name is Zuko. Zuko Agni."

"Oh… I see," Iroh frowned with surprise on his face.

"Is something wrong?" Katara asked worriedly.

He shook his head, "Nothing too serious, it just appears that you are dating my nephew," he admitted.

She gasped, "Oh, I'm so sorry, Mr. Iroh. I had no idea, I-" but was cut off.

"Don't worry about it, Miss Katara," he waved his hand dismissively, "I love my nephew very much, but there's no point of either of you being in a relationship that's not going to go anywhere. He may like you, but he will recover quickly when you break up with him. He will be just fine, I assure you," he calmed her down.

"Okay," Katara said uncertainly, "If you say so. Anyways, you obviously know him very well. How should I let him down as easily as possible?"

"Hmmm," he hummed thoughtfully, "The best way to let him down easily is just to be kind and direct about it. My nephew is what you might call a "softie". At least partially, anyway, though he would never admit it. He's also very prideful and stubborn, so he likely will not take your rejection well, so be prepared for that. The longer you let this draw out, the worse it will be for him, so I would appreciate it if you ended it swiftly."

"Of course, Mr. Iroh. I don't want to have to hurt him anymore than I already am going to," she assured him, "I would still like to be friends with him, I just don't want to be more than that anymore."

He cracked a smile, "Good, I am glad to hear it. Now, for your second problem. I can only assume you mean Aang as the young man that you now have feelings for?" he asked with a laugh. She blushed and nodded quickly, fearing that Aang would come back at any moment. "Well, if it's any consolation, I believe he has the same feelings for you."

She couldn't stop herself from smiling, "Really?" she asked excitedly.

Iroh chuckled, "Well, of course. He would have to be brain-dead to not have feelings for you." Upon closer inspection, he noticed her earrings, "Those are some beautiful earrings, Miss Katara. May I ask where you got them?"

"Yeah," Katara smiled and tucked her hair behind her ears to give him a better look at them, "Aang actually got them for me. He left them in a package at my doorstep before I got home today from work."

Iroh smirked, "Well, if I know Aang at all, then I can almost guarantee that he does indeed feel the same for you as you do for him. Aang is not a materialistic person, as it is against his people's core values. He often donates most of the money he receives from his job to charities, but he must have taken out a good portion of what he makes to get you those. I would say that's almost definite proof that he returns your feelings."

Katara sighed, "As much as I would love to believe you, I don't know for sure. I want to, but I also don't want to risk losing his friendship if he doesn't feel the same."

"Miss Katara," Iroh said sagely, "Like anything, love is a game. The only way to win is to play. The surest way to lose is _not_ to play."

She was silent for a moment, "I suppose you're right. I'll end things with Zuko, then I'll tell him how I feel."

Iroh grinned, "That is a wise plan, Miss Katara." He looked to see Aang coming back from the bathroom, "Well, this has been a lovely chat, but I should get back to work. Best of luck with your plans."

She smiled, "Thank you for your help, Mr. Iroh," she told him gratefully.

"It was my pleasure, Miss Katara," he assured her, "If you ever need any advice from this old bag of bones, do not hesitate to stop by here at any time. Good luck." And with that he got up and walked back to the kitchen to take another nap.

Aang finally made it back over to his seat, "Sorry it took me so long," he apologized, "My stomach wanted to put up a fight, it seems."

Katara giggled, "It's alright, I just had a little chat with Mr. Iroh while I waited," she told him.

"Yeah, I saw that," he smiled as she took a sip of her coffee, "What were you guys talking about?" he asked curiously.

She spit out a little from surprise of the question, getting some of it on him, "Oh, I'm so sorry, Aang!" she exclaimed, "Are you alright? Do you want me to get some napkins? Is it-"

He raised a hand to stop her ramblings, "Don't worry about it, Katara, I'm fine," he chuckled, "I'm an Airbender, so I can just dry myself off." With one swipe of his hand, he sent a small blast of air to his shirt and dried it off quickly. "There, good as new," he reassured her.

"Okay, if you're sure," she said hesitantly.

"So, judging by your reaction, I'm assuming you guys talked about something important," Aang resumed his questioning, "Is everything alright?"

She reluctantly nodded, "Yeah, everything's fine, I just wanted some advice on something and he seemed like a good person to confide in, so I asked him if he would help me which he did."

"Well, I'm not the wisest person on Earth," Aang laughed, "but you could have asked me. I love helping my friends out with their problems. I don't know everything, but depending on the situation, maybe I could have helped you out."

"Um, I'm sure you could," she tried to not offend him but also didn't want him to know what advice she was seeking, "but this just seemed like something he would be able to help me out with from a likely past experience."

After a few seconds of silence, Aang simply shrugged, "Okay, well if you ever need advice for something that _I_ could help you with, just let me know. I've been known to help people figure out things once or twice, myself."

"Oh yeah?" Katara asked amused.

He nodded with a grin, "Yep. I've even been known to settle disputes between people before. And not to brag or anything, but I haven't lost a case yet."

Aang took a sip of his coffee while Katara laughed, "That's cool. Well thank you, Aang. If I'm being honest, I think you would give the Avatar a run for his money if you started resolving more people's problems," she said as he choked back the urge to spit out his coffee as well. She noticed his discomfort, "Are you alright?" she asked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he waved his hand dismissively, "I was just kind of surprised by what you said. I thought that the Avatar was killed during the onslaught of my people," he lied.

"No one really knows if he was or not," Katara told him, "His identity was never announced, and none of the surviving airbenders will say a word." She paused for a second, "Hey, Aang?"

He looked up curiously, "Yeah?"

"I guess I was wondering… I know you just said you thought that the Avatar was killed, but with your being an airbender and all, if you had any idea what happened to the Avatar?" she asked hopefully.

Aang laughed nervously, "Oh, no. I didn't know him. I mean, I knew people that knew him, but I didn't. Sorry," he offered her a weak smile.

"Okay. Just curious," she smiled, "Anyways, I told you more about myself, now it's your turn. Oh! And you've got to tell me what you think of the coffee!"

He snickered at her eagerness, "Okay, well the coffee is actually surprisingly good," he admitted sheepishly.

"Ha!" she cheered proudly, "I knew it!" she finished with a smug smirk.

"Yeah, you were right," he chuckled, "And for your first request, there's not really much to say. You already know that I'm an Airbender; One of the last ones left. I used to live at the Southern Air Temple. It's actually not too far from the South Pole, about a day or two's journey. You already know what I do for a living," he twitched a little, it being a symptom of him lying, "I love to help other people out when I can, and I love to make people laugh. If I can make someone laugh at least once a day, then I'll be content for the rest of my life," he finished with a smile.

Katara smiled dreamily back, "Well, I'm glad I got to know you more."

"Yeah," Aang grinned, "I'm glad I got to know you more, too." He looked at the time. "Wow, it's pretty late! We've been here for three hours!"

Katara gasped, "Really?" she asked in surprise. He nodded. "Well, I do have work tomorrow," she continued reluctantly, "and I'm sure you want to get a good night's rest for your work. Should we call it a night?" she asked sadly.

"I guess so," he responded just as sadly, "Here, let me walk you to your car." She smiled and they both got up. Aang left a generous tip on the table and they walked out to her car. "Thanks for a good time," Aang told her, "It was really nice getting to know you."

"Yeah, it was really nice getting to know you, too," she agreed with a smile, "Maybe we can hang out again some other time?"

"I would like that," he chuckled, "Have a good night, Katara."

She kissed him on the cheek, causing him to blush, "You too, Aang. I'll see you later." She got into her car and waved at him before driving back home. As she drove silently, she noticed that she had forgotten to ask her question that she had wanted to ask. _Maybe next time_… she thought with a smile, knowing that she would get to hang out with him more made her very happy.

* * *

However, a very unhappy Zuko wasn't far away. He had seen her kiss him on the cheek several times throughout their little get together, and he planned on doing something about it. Waiting until Katara was gone, he got back into his car and followed Aang back to his house. _Of course the guy lives right across the street from her,_ he thought bitterly, _Well, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind._ Getting himself worked up, he waited until Aang had been inside his house for ten minutes before he walked up to the door and knocked on it furiously. A few minutes later Aang came to the door in a tank top and shorts that clearly showed off his defined muscles, "Um, hi," he said awkwardly, "Can I help you?" he asked politely.

"Yeah," Zuko growled, "You can do me a favor and stay away from my girlfriend."

Aang just looked confused, "What are you talking about?" he asked tiredly.

"My girlfriend," Zuko seethed, "Katara Rivers?"

Understanding finally flashed through his eyes, "Ah, you're Katara's boyfriend," he put out his hand to shake, "It's nice to finally meet you. I wish I could tell you she's told me a lot about you, but I'm afraid I'm not one to lie about such things. The name's Aang, Aang Feng."

Zuko just looked at his hand as if it were contagious, "I would lie and say that it's nice to meet _you_, but I'm not one to lie about such things either. I know you're out to steal my girlfriend, and I'm telling you right now that you need to stop hanging out with her. Or else," he tried threatening him.

Aang put up his hands defensively but was clearly offended, "Look dude, you obviously don't know me well, so I'll let this slide just this once, but don't _ever_ accuse me of being a woman-stealer ever again. I am not one, and I would never stoop that low. The only time I would _ever_ do that is if I thought the guy that the girl I had feelings for was dating wasn't treating her right. And so far, I haven't heard anything of the sort, so it won't be a problem. Besides, I don't know why you would think she would leave you for me in the first place, she doesn't see me that way. We're just friends."

Zuko's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "So, you don't have feelings for her?" he asked incredulously.

"Of course I do! How could I not?" Aang snorted, making Zuko get angry again. "Let me finish, hothead," he drawled noticing Zuko's hand that had caught on fire, "Just because I have feelings for her doesn't mean that anything's going to happen between us. Like I said, there's no way she has feelings for me, so you've got nothing to worry about."

"Oh yeah?" Zuko asked angrily, "Then why is she going out on a date with you and kissing your cheek? Why has she been drifting apart from me ever since you got to town?"

Aang rolled his eyes, "I'm new to the neighborhood, and she's just being a good neighbor. She's one of the nicest people I've ever met, she probably has done this for all of her neighbors. And as for why she's been drifting apart from you, maybe you're just not as good of a boyfriend as you think you are."

"No, she hasn't," Zuko responded through his teeth, "I've known her for a while now, and I've never _once_ seen her do that for someone new to the neighborhood. And maybe you should shut the fuck up! I'm a great boyfriend, and you'll never know what it's like to be with her, so you can shut your fucking mouth!"

Aang took a deep breath. "Look man, I'm not going to fight you, especially since you're being so paranoid over something so stupid," he started, "Don't you trust her? I've only known her for two days, and I already know that she's not the kind of girl to cheat on someone. There's no way she would ever do that to anyone, so I have no idea why you're so worried. If you truly think that she might do that, then you don't know her at all. And that's coming from someone who's only known her for two, freaking, days. Now, how about we just calm down and forget this ever happened?" he tried to extend an olive branch.

"I am calm!" Zuko yelled angrily, unintentionally contradicting himself, "I'm the calmest person alive! If you think that you're better than me, let me tell you, you're not. I'm dating the girl you want, and that's something you can't have!"

"I never said that I wanted her," Aang pointed out calmly, "I just said that I have feelings for her. If she wasn't dating you, then sure, I would try my luck. But since she _is_ dating you, then right now I _don't_ want her. Maybe instead of worrying about someone else taking her from you, maybe just maybe you should work on not giving her a reason to leave you for someone else."

Zuko got right up in his face, "What do you know about my life? What do you know about how I treat her?"

Aang didn't back down, "I _don't _know much, other than that you can't be a very good boyfriend to her, because if you were, you wouldn't be so damn worried about losing her in the first place. Even if she did leave you, judging on how paranoid you are right now, I'd say she'd be better off without you."

Zuko's fury was palpable. As he was about to try to punch him, Aang felt his vibrations and ducked as he swung, making him punch straight into Aang's metal door. "Shit!" he yelled loudly into the sky.

The lights turned on in several houses and Katara came out from her house worriedly in nothing but her nightgown. "Aang?" she called from the other side, "Is everything alright?" She walked up closer to his house and noticed Zuko there, "Zuko?!" she gasped and got angry, "What are you doing at Aang's house?"

Zuko looked at her angrily, still holding onto his bruised knuckle, "Nothing. I just came here to have a little chat with New Guy here. Isn't that right, _Aang?_" He shot Aang a death glare.

"Yeah," Aang said reluctantly, "He was just welcoming me to the neighborhood is all."

Katara didn't believe either of them for a second, "In the middle of the night? When he should be at work?"

Aang shrugged, "What he does with his time isn't up to me." He turned back to Zuko, "Thanks for the _warm_ welcome, but I would suggest that you leave right now unless you have anything actually productive to say."

Zuko glared at him one last time, but admitted defeat and walked off of his porch. He made his way over to Katara who was standing there tapping her foot angrily, "What the hell, Zuko? Why aren't you at work? Why are you bothering Aang in the middle of the night? Why are you-" she stopped herself as he grabbed her face and tried to kiss her, but she just pulled away and smacked him. "You're not allowed to kiss me right now!" she yelled at him, "I'm mad at you, so nothing of the sort until we work things out! Are we clear?"

Zuko didn't say anything as his angry gaze flickered from Katara to Aang and back to Katara, "Fine," he seethed.

"We'll talk about this tomorrow," Katara shook her head at him, "Now go home and don't bother him again." He stomped off towards his car and drove away. She turned back to Aang, "I'm so sorry, Aang. I don't know what's gotten into him," she apologized.

He laughed a little, "Oh, I do."

She raised an eyebrow, "What is it?" she asked warily.

Aang rubbed his neck nervously, making Katara's worry go away at the endearing sight, "I probably shouldn't say anything, but it's so ridiculous, I know you'll find it hilarious."

"Oh yeah?" Katara laughed, "What was he so angry about?"

"Well, he thought that I was trying to steal you away from him and that you had feelings for me and that you were actually going to leave him for me," he laughed, "Yeah right, like you would ever have feelings for me."

Katara chuckled nervously. "Yeah, totally," she said unconvincingly, "Strange that he thought you were trying to steal me away from him. Like you would ever do that," she tried to see what his reaction to that would be.

He smiled a little sadly. "Yeah, I'm not a woman-stealer, so that would never happen," he agreed, "Besides, I know something that he apparently doesn't: That you're not a cheater. I just don't get how he doesn't see that we're just friends. I mean, I just met you yesterday, it's not like I've fallen in love with you already or anything," he looked down, not wanting her to see the blush on his face.

Katara looked down sadly, "Yeah. Totally."

Aang looked up and frowned, "What's wrong, Katara?"

Katara shook her head. "It's nothing," she sighed, "I'm just a little sad."

"Why are you sad?" he asked concerned, "Is it something I can help you with?"

"No, it's nothing that can't be fixed on it's own," she told him, "I just hoped for one thing, but got the opposite of what I wanted, so I'll just have to deal with it now," she sighed again.

He didn't look convinced, "Katara, I can help you. Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it. No questions asked."

Her ears perked up from hearing these words, "Really?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course," he smiled at her, "I would do anything for you. I know we've only known each other for two days, but I feel a strong connection with you, Katara. This might sound a little crazy, but… you're my best friend."

"Oh," she said disappointed, "Yeah. You're my best friend, too. I appreciate your help Aang, but I'll be fine on my own. I've just got to deal with it for a little while, but I'll get over it eventually."

Aang still wasn't convinced, but he shrugged it off, "Okay… if you say so. So, what are you going to do about Zuko?"

Katara's sad expression returned to her previous angry state, "Oh, I've had enough of his jealousy and idiocy. I'm going to break up with him tomorrow."

Not being able to hold himself back anymore, he walked down the porch steps and wrapped her in a hug which she returned gratefully, "I'm so sorry, Kat. It must be hard for you."

She laughed a little. "Trust me, it's not. I didn't like him much in the first place," she admitted, "I'll just be doing something I should have done long ago."

He wasn't so sure, but he could hear the sincerity in her voice, so he let it go, "Okay," he said hesitantly, "If you're sure. Well, if you have any trouble with him tomorrow and need some back up, just give me a call and let me know. I'll be home all day tomorrow, so I'll be at the ready whenever you need me."

She smiled warmly at him, "Thanks, Aang. That means a lot to me." Diving back into his arms, she couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. He may not love her the way she loved him, but at least she knew he would always be there for her. And that would just have to enough.

"No problem at all, Kat," he rubbed circles on her back and kissed her head, "No problem at all."

After a few minutes, Katara reluctantly pulled away and made her way back to her house, "Goodnight, Aang," she called over her shoulder, "I'll see you soon."

"Goodnight, Katara," he whispered sadly. Once she was safely inside her house, he sighed and went back up to his bed. As he finished brushing his teeth, he couldn't help but think that his earlier assumption was right. That the world _was_ out to get him. The world made him fall in love with a girl he would never be able to have. Shaking his head, he got into his bed and slowly drifted off into a deep sleep.


	4. Chapter 4: The Breakup

Chapter 4: The Breakup

**Responses to Reviews: **

**Essa8b3: I know, it's pretty frustrating for me too when they're so close to knowing each other's feelings but are dancing around the truth out of fear of rejection. You're probably going to have to suffer through that for at least a couple of chapters before they find out the truth, because neither of them are going to easily believe it when someone else says that they feel the same for each other. Thanks for reading and for the review! **

**AnonymousKataang: Yeah, I agree. I thought it would be pretty funny, and I could totally see that happening in the actual show. Like on one of their first dates, they just go on a picnic or something simple but Katara is in a fancy kimono and Aang's wearing some super expensive robes or something like that, so I thought it would be a good part to add to the story. You are right about all of the Easter Eggs that you have found except for the one you said is from the fortune teller. It is actually from "Avatar Day" where Aang convinces Sokka to take up his case to prove his innocence from killing Chin the Great. I love that part of the episode because it shows just how well Katara and Aang work together. Aang makes her laugh while she sucks in her pride and kisses Sokka's butt to try to help Aang. They make a great team and it's proven constantly throughout the show. There are actually two more Easter Eggs in the third chapter that are from certain fanfiction stories, so I didn't expect anyone to get them so readily. You'd have to have read the story to recognize them after all. I would say what they are and what stories they're from, but I want to see if other people can figure it out. Thanks for reading and for the review! **

**I saw that there are more reviews, but for whatever reason the site won't let me see them for now, so until they come up I guess I won't be responding to reviews that I can't read.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. **

* * *

_Buzz!_ Katara sighed in relief. Today had been an especially long day at work. Mostly because she was dreading what she would have to do all day. She had never had to break up with someone before, so she didn't know exactly how it was going to go down. If there was one thing she was absolutely sure of about it, it was that Zuko would _not_ be happy. But his happiness wasn't really her responsibility, after all. And he had definitely earned it by doing what he did the night before. She knew that he could be hot headed and not think from time to time, but she didn't think that he would go as far as to stalk her friend back to his house to threaten him to stay away from her. It had taken her awhile to get up the nerve to end things with him, she had actually wanted to break up with him since the first week of dating him, but now she had no qualms about it whatsoever. She would never allow herself to be with someone who had so little faith in her who then decided that he would need to threaten someone else just to keep his girlfriend. If the relationship hadn't made her happy before, it was only worse now, and there was no one to blame but him. As much as it would be a relief to finally be rid of him, she had to admit she was still a little down from last night. She knew that Aang could have been lying when he said they were just friends, but she strongly doubted that he was. But, if anything was going to happen between them, then she would just have to play the long game. _Even if he only thinks of me as a friend now, that doesn't mean I can't change his mind_, she realized excitedly, _All it would take is a little work. Give off some signs that I'm interested, start dressing up a little bit more, maybe even do some light flirting. It might just work_, she thought with a smile. With that happy thought, she got into her car and called up Zuko. After a few rings, he picked up, "How's it going, Tara?" he asked happily, "I didn't think you would want to talk to me."

She cringed a little. This was going to be harder than she had expected. Her main hope to make this as easy as possible would have been for him to be angry with her as well, but now it sounded like he didn't care anymore. And that was a problem. Still, there was no backing out of this now, especially not after last night. "Well, actually we do need to talk."

"But we are talking," he pointed out, "I'm talking to you right now."

Katara rolled her eyes for what felt like the thousandth time, "No, I mean we need to talk in person. Not over the phone. Meet me at the diner on the corner of fifth and first and we'll talk."

"Okay," he responded cheerily, clearly having no clue what she wanted to talk about, "I'll be there. Bye, Tara." She hung up and sighed. Katara knew that this wasn't going to be easy, but she had hoped it would be easier than this. The whole reason she had avoided breaking up with him in the first place was because she didn't want to break his heart, but it would be even harder for her now that he sounded so happy that she was talking to him again. _He deserves it for the way he's been acting lately_, she reminded herself, _No one made him be an overly jealous boyfriend or follow some poor guy to his own home just to threaten him about a girl the guy had just met the day before. Zuko's out of his mind._ Shaking her head at her soon to be ex-boyfriend, she turned up the stereo and drove towards the diner. Due to it being Friday, it was pretty busy, but she had an in with the owner so she would be able to get a table easily. She walked straight up to the podium at the front and saw none other than her good friend waiting for her there. "Hi, Katara!" Ty Lee greeted her cheerily, "Here on a date with Zuko?"

Katara smiled a little, "Yeah, but I'd rather not go into too much detail about it right now, Ty. I'll tell you about it later."

Ty Lee gasped, "You're going to break up with him, aren't you?"

"How did you know that?" Katara's eyes widened in surprise, "All I said is that I didn't want to go into detail about it."

"Well, it's not exactly hard to figure out," Ty Lee laughed, "You've got guilt written all over your face, not to mention you sound just as guilty as you look. And whenever _I_ was about to break up with someone, I would say the exact same thing as what you said to people who asked me about it. It all just adds up."

"Hmmm," Katara hummed in thought, "I guess you're right. You shouldn't be a waitress, Ty. If you could figure out other cases just as well as you figured mine out, then you'd make a great detective."

Ty Lee smiled, "Thanks, but I don't think I would want to be a detective too much. I don't do well with dead bodies and such. Though it would be cool to walk around with an eyeglass looking at things on the ground all day!" she cheered.

Katara couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm, "Well, I'm sure you would do great, Ty. But I get what you mean about not wanting to deal with dead bodies. That wouldn't be for me, either," she shuddered, "So, do you by chance have a table open for me? Preferably a booth if possible?"

"Of course!" Ty Lee exclaimed, "Even if we didn't, I'd kick someone out to make sure you got what you wanted."

"Thanks, Ty. I really appreciate it," Katara told her gratefully, "Though I hope you wouldn't _actually_ kick someone else out for my sake. That wouldn't be very nice."

Ty Lee just laughed, "Don't worry, Katara. I was totally kidding. Now, let's go find you a breakup booth!" She grabbed a couple of menus and led the way as she searched for a suitable place for Katara to sit. After a few minutes of searching through the crowded diner, Ty Lee finally found a booth that had just been cleaned up and dragged Katara over to it. "Here you go. Freshly cleaned and more than enough space between you guys so you won't have to be too close to him."

"Perfect. Thank you so much, Ty, I won't forget about this," Katara hugged her, "Now, I guess I should start rehearsing my breakup speech."

"Oh, that parts easy!" Ty Lee told her happily, "All you have to do is say 'I'm sorry, but it's not working out anymore. I think we should see other people. We can still be friends.' That's all there is to it."

Katara groaned a little, "Easy for you to say, Ty. You've dumped lots of guys before. This is my first one, and I'll feel awful once I break his heart."

Ty Lee just smiled, "I get it, Kat. My first one wasn't easy either, but after dumping so many guys, I've found it's best to just rip off the band-aid rather than draw it out longer. The more time they have to heal, the sooner they'll be able to get over it and the sooner you can move on past the awkwardness."

Katara couldn't help but look at her in amazement, "Wow, you're absolutely right, Ty. I'll have to remember to go to you if I ever need relationship advice. You really seem to know what you're doing."

"Well yeah, I _seem_ like I know what I'm doing," Ty Lee started, " but if I'm being honest, I still have no clue what I'm doing. I tend to just play things by ear and hope it all works out for the best. And considering how many boyfriends I've gone through, I wouldn't say I've done too well."

"Don't worry, Ty. I'm sure you'll find someone who'll actually be good for you," Katara reassured her, "Who knows? Maybe you could go out with Zuko after I've broken up with him."

"Nah," Ty Lee waved her hand dismissively, "Been there, done that. He's a nice guy and all, but he's got a bit of a temper problem. I don't want to go out with someone who's just going to dampen my mood. Do you know how hard it is to stay this cheery in a small town where everyone knows everything about you? The last thing I need is to date someone who's going to mess that up."

Katara chuckled, "You're definitely right about him having an anger issue. I'll have to tell you why I decided to break up with him some other time. It's quite an interesting story, if I do say so myself."

Ty Lee beamed, "Of course! I _love_ to gossip! I want to hear every detail later!" Then something popped into her mind, "Oh! Have you seen the new guy in town, Katara?"

"Yeah," Katara smiled, "His name's Aang, and he's really nice and smart. He even protects endangered wildlife for a living."

"Not to mention he's a super hunk," Ty Lee smirked, "He's probably the hottest guy we've ever had in this town."

"Also not to mention that he's actually calm and collected," Katara put in, "and not insane like a certain someone."

"Yeah," Ty Lee agreed, "It's pretty rare to find a guy who doesn't let their ego get in their way." She looked over to the front and saw Zuko walk in, "Okay, it's showtime! I'd prepare yourself. The first time you break up with someone isn't going to be easy, but if you decide you need me to do it for you, just signal me by pulling on your hair and I'll come do it for you. Then I'll get you out of here as fast as possible, okay?"

"Okay," Katara smiled, "Thanks for being such a great friend, Ty. I'm glad I've gotten to be your friend since I moved here."

"Hey, what else are friends for?" Ty Lee grinned, "Good luck, Kat!" She walked away to bring Zuko over to her. _Okay, Katara. Deep breath. Deep breath. It's just a break up, it's not like you murdered someone. And remember, he deserves it and you're doing him a favor by ending it before it becomes too serious. Everything will be just fine._

A minute later, Zuko walked up and sat down on the other side of the booth, "Hey, Tara. I'm really glad you wanted to see me. I missed you."

Katara couldn't help but roll her eyes, "Zuko, I just saw you last night. How did you miss me already?"

"Well, I only usually get to see you on weekends because of our work," he started, "so I'm happy that I get to see you in person on a weekday."

"Speaking of which, did you have to call off work to do this?" Katara asked.

He shook his head, "Nah, I'm friends with the boss there. He said as long as I'm no more than an hour late, then it should be fine."

Katara folded her hands and twirled her fingers together nervously, "Well, that's good I guess." She paused. "Look, I have a reason for why I called you here to talk today."

"I know," Zuko told her, "And before you say anything, I just wanted to apologize for the way I acted last night. I was completely out of line, and I shouldn't have tried to threaten your friend. I'm sorry."

_He just _had_ to go all noble today, didn't he?_ she thought in annoyance. "Well, I'm glad that you know that what you did was wrong, but that doesn't fix things. You threatened an innocent man for something that he would never do, not to mention accused me of being a potential cheater when I would _never_ do anything of the sort."

He tried to placate her, "I know, Tara, and I'm really sorry. I wasn't thinking clearly and I let my temper get out of control. I promise, I won't let it happen again."

"This isn't the first time this has happened, Zuko," she reminded him, "Remember when Sokka beat you at basketball and you burned his ball to a crisp? Just because you couldn't beat him at a friendly game of basketball, you destroyed a perfectly good ball because you couldn't control your anger?" she asked him seriously.

"I know, Tara, I'm really-"

"No Zuko, I don't think you do know. I've seen way too many times where you've let your anger and jealousy get the best of you," she interrupted him, "Look, I decided that I would give you a shot to see if we could work out when we first started dating, but I just don't see us working out and having a future together. I get angry too, but I don't let it consume me and destroy stuff in the process. I might say some hurtful things and act like a bitch sometimes when I'm angry or hurt or scared, which I'm not proud of, but I don't physically harm others and their stuff. I'm sorry Zuko, but I just don't see a future for us."

Zuko's look of shame turned into one of anger, "This is because of the new guy isn't it? We weren't having these problems before he arrived, and now two days after he comes to town, you break up with me?"

"Zuko, this has _nothing_ to do with Aang moving here," she assured him, "I've been having these thoughts for a while now, and I just didn't have the heart to do anything about them until now. Don't get me wrong, you're a great guy when you're not letting your anger get the best of you, but even if that wasn't a problem, me and you are different, and not in a good way. We also have some things in common, but what we have in common and what we don't are not complementary together. We both get overly worked up when we care about something, and because of that. in the middle of a fight, it would be like fighting fire with fire. Everything would just burn down to the ground and there would be no survivors. Just because we've only had a few fights doesn't mean that we wouldn't have had more. Even you have to admit that we've butt heads a lot since we started dating. What kind of relationship is going to work out if we're just going to disagree with each other so much?"

"I don't care!" Zuko yelled angrily, "None of this would be happening if that stupid idiot hadn't come here and started taking you away from me!"

Katara shook her head in disbelief, "Did you even hear a word I just said, Zuko? That's_ another _reason why we can't be together. You're too stubborn and prideful like I am to let up from what you want. Neither of us would actually listen to the other, and we wouldn't be able to work out our issues. Let me assure you, Zuko. Even if I wasn't breaking up with you right now, I guarantee that we would have broken up eventually. The small fights would have eventually turned into big fights, and then we would be all but wanting to rip each others' throats out. I'm sorry, Zuko, but this is for the best. For both of us. I know you'll see that one day."

He stood up quickly, "Fine! Go run to your new boyfriend, you Water Whore! I don't need you!" Grabbing his jacket, he put it on and stormed out of the diner, leaving everyone to stare awkwardly at Katara.

"Oh, just go back to your food!" she complained. Luckily for her, they just shrugged it off and went back to their meals.

Ty Lee came walking up to her, "Wow," she smiled apologetically, "That looked like it was rough. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Katara sighed, "That just went _much_ worse than I had been hoping it would. But if nothing else, at least it's over. Now I won't have to be in a relationship with someone who somehow doesn't trust me, even though I did absolutely nothing to prove otherwise."

She patted her awkwardly on the back, 'There, there, Katara. The big bad man is gone now. No need to worry."

Katara couldn't help herself from bursting out laughing with Ty Lee joining in as well, "Okay, I really needed that. Thanks, Ty."

Ty Lee wiped a tear from her eye as her giggles settled down, "No problem at all, Kat. We all need to laugh after going through something like that. Now come on, I'm sure you don't want to be here any longer than you have to. Have you got any plans for the day other than this mess?"

"Nope," Katara shook her head as Ty Lee walked her out, "That was pretty much the only thing I had planned for today. Any suggestions?"

"Ooh! I know! You could go talk to Mr. Hunk and find out if he's a douche or not!" Ty Lee suggested cheerily.

Katara snickered, "I already did that, Ty, and he's actually a great guy. He's actually the guy that Zuko was yelling about before he stormed out of here."

"Ohhhh, that makes sense!" Ty Lee said loudly, "Is that actually why you broke up with him, or is that just a bonus?" she asked mischievously.

"Ty!" Katara exclaimed, "I didn't break up with him for Aang, I swear! I broke up with him because we just weren't working out. Besides, Aang doesn't like me that way. At least not yet."

Ty Lee frowned, "What makes you say that? Why wouldn't he like you?"

Katara shrugged, "I don't know, but last night after I had finished yelling at Zuko, I tried asking in a discreet way if he thought of me as more than a friend, but he didn't say yes."

"But did he say no?" Ty Lee shot back, taking Katara by surprise.

She thought about it for a moment, "Well, he didn't say 'no' specifically, but he said that he's only known me for two days so it's not like he could've fallen in love with me."

"Well, there you go!" Ty Lee cheered, "Just because he said that he's not in love with you doesn't mean that he doesn't at least like you."

"Yeah," Katara conceded, "but he also said that we're just friends."

Ty Lee rolled her eyes, "Oh come on, Katara! Do you know _anything_ about relationships?" Katara shook her head. "Look, there is a chance that he only thinks of you as a friend, but there's also just as good of a chance he thinks of you as more. Just because he _said_ that you're just friends doesn't mean that he actually only thinks of you in that way. He's probably just scared to tell you how he feels in case you don't feel the same."

"You know what?" Katara asked a little hopefully, "You just might be right. Do you have any tips on how I can flirt with him to show that I'm interested? I could definitely use some pointers."

"You mean besides just dropping all of your clothes and spreading your legs on a bed while saying 'Come and get it big boy'?" she asked bluntly.

"Ty!"

Ty Lee smiled, "Oh relax, Katara. I'm totally kidding. Although, that trick _has_ worked perfectly for me every time I've done it, so I can't _not_ reccommend it."

Katara shook her head at her friend. "Ty, you know that I love you, no offense or anything, but you're kind of the slut of the town," she informed her.

"I know!" Ty Lee agreed cheerily, "And I'm okay with that!"

"Alright," Katara said reluctantly, "Whatever works for you. Anyways, do you have some other non-slutty tips for how to flirt with him?"

She took a second to think about it, "Oh! Here, it would probably be better just to show you." Taking Katara's hand, she put her in the middle of the sidewalk and stepped a few feet away from her. "Okay, first lesson: The Sexy Walk."

Katara looked confused, "The Sexy Walk?" she asked incredulously.

Ty Lee nodded, "Yeah! One of the surest ways to flirt with a guy when you come walking towards him is to walk in a sexy way that's different than your average walk. They can pick up on it and see that you're trying to get their attention by doing that, which will signal to them that you're interested. Here, let me show you." Ty Lee started walking towards her slowly while overly swaying her hips and crossing one leg over the other. "See? Nothing to it! Now you give it a shot!"

Katara went over to Ty Lee's starting position and tried to copy her, but ended up tripping herself and falling on the ground with a thud. "Ow."

"Okay, looks like we'll need to work on that. Let's try it again." After a few more tries, Katara finally got it down.

"Perfect!" Ty Lee cheered, "Alright. Now that you've mastered that, I'll show you how to touch him softly without being all over him. Observe." She walked up to Katara and ran a hand down her arm with a finger, just barely grazing Katara's skin. "The trick is that you show unnecessary physical contact with him without being too forward. If you're too forward, you might scare him off. But if you just gently touch him smoothly like I just showed you, then you'll signal to him that you're interested without seeming too clingy. Also while you're doing this, you want to be close to him, but not too close. Make sure that he has some breathing room. If he _does_ like you, odds are that you being close to him is going to make him nervous. Unless he's a cocky bastard, then that probably won't happen."

"He's not," Katara interrupted, "If he was cocky, he wouldn't blush as much as I've seen him."

"Ooh!" Ty Lee gasped, "You've gotten him to blush? That's a good sign, Kat!"

Katara smiled a little, "I hope so. Anyways, let me try your trick." She ran her fingers gently down Ty Lee's arm and back up again several times.

"Good, that one's pretty easy to learn," Ty Lee congratulated her, "Now we're going to take that up a notch. You can also have physical contact with him by laying your head on his shoulder or by wrapping your arms around his arm. Some girls even do both at the same time. There's no need to show that, so we'll just move on to the last trick I've got for you."

"And what's that?" Katara asked curiously.

"Talking flirtily to him!" Ty Lee cheered, "Physical hints are all well and good, but giving him verbal hints is the best option you have for letting him know that you're interested without actually telling him how you feel. Here, let me show you." She took a step back and winked at her, "Wow, you look _so_ strong. Do you work out?"

Katara looked confused, "But what if you just honestly are wondering if he works out or not? Couldn't he think that you're just wondering instead of trying to flirt?"

"He could I suppose," Ty Lee pondered, "but even if someone's new to the game, our instincts tend to help us out with stuff like that. Though I'll be honest, with any kind of flirting since he's a guy, there's a fifty fifty chance that it'll go completely over his head."

"Ugh," Katara groaned while thumping her head, "What's the point of doing this if he's not even going to recognize the signal?"

"Because that's the only way you can suggest to him that you're interested without flat out telling him how you feel," Ty Lee pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Katara admitted grudgingly, "Are you sure this stuff will work?"

"Of course!" Ty Lee assured her, "Just don't over do it and you'll be fine. Now, go get your flirt on Kat, and let me know how it goes!"

Katara smiled, "Okay, I will. See you later, Ty!" And with that she made her way to her car and drove off to find Aang.

* * *

Aang looked around the grocery store. He had been shopping for what felt like hours, but probably had only been half an hour. He could have been done sooner, but for some reason he could not for the life of him find flour in this huge store. It both amazed and annoyed him how such a small town had one of the biggest grocery stores he had ever seen. And here he was, looking through aisle after aisle for a stupid bag of flour. And what was the reason for wanting said flour so badly? Because he wanted to make Katara some thank you cookies for welcoming him to the neighborhood. The only thing stopping him from that was a stupid gigantic store that probably took up half of the town. Needless to say, it frustrated him to no end. After another ten minutes of searching, he finally found it. "Thank the Spirits!" he sighed in relief. He made his way over to it and saw that it was the last bag. _Well, looks like I got lucky,_ he thought happily. Reaching out to grab it, he was interrupted when another guy came up and reached for it too. "Um," Aang started awkwardly, "I was kinda here first, so if you don't mind, I'll just take this now."

The other guy didn't look too happy. In fact, he looked scared out of his mind, "Uh, I know that you were here first and all, but my girlfriend's going to kill me if I don't get this, so could you do a brother a solid and let me have it?"

"I don't know..." Aang started uneasily, "I really need this to make some 'thank you' cookies for a friend of mine, aren't there any other bags around here?"

The stranger shook his head worriedly, "No, they don't hold anything in the back because everything sells so fast here."

Aang became surprised, "Really? That sounds really... stupid."

"Yeah," the stranger laughed in agreement, "I agree with you on that. I've even tried to get them to change their policy because I wanted to get NBA 2K19 a couple of months ago when it came out, but they wouldn't listen to a word I said, so there's no way they're going to change their minds."

"You like to play NBA games, too?" Aang asked excitedly.

The stranger snorted, "Duh. Lots of people do. Who doesn't?"

"You'd be surprised," Aang told him sincerely, "None of the friends I've had in my life _ever_ played any of the 2K's. I always had to play by myself since they never would."

"Well," the stranger started with a smile, "if you're ever looking for a buddy to play against, I'm always looking for someone to make a dream team. Are you any good?"

Aang smiled back, "Yeah. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I've played over a thousand matches and haven't lost once. It's actually hard to find someone who can give me a challenge."

The stranger's jaw dropped, "No way. Alright, I've got to see what you can do. Wanna come over to my house and see if you can beat me?"

"You're on," Aang grinned, "Oh, I should probably tell you my name. I'm Aang, Aang Feng."

"The name's Sokka, Sokka Rivers," Sokka stuck his hand out to shake, which Aang did.

"Hmmm," Aang hummed thoughtfully, stupidly forgetting where he had heard that name before, "Rivers. That sounds really familiar."

Sokka laughed, "Yeah, it's a pretty common name. I'm likely not the only Rivers you've met. Come on, let's go and see what you've got." Then he remembered something, "Oh! What about the flour?" he asked.

"Oh yeah!" Aang exclaimed, "Well, how much do you need of it for your girlfriend?"

Sokka thought about it for a moment, "If I remember correctly, the instructions said that I needed a half cup of flour."

"Okay, I can work with that," Aang told him, "How about we split the cost for it and we'll split the bag. Deal?"

"Deal," Sokka agreed and they shook hands again, "Alright come on, let's get this to the checkout and we'll go back to my place. Then I'll whoop your butt in 2K."

Aang laughed, "In your dreams, Sokka. In your dreams." They both laughed and made their way to the checkout lines. There was one express checkout that was open and they went to it. Sokka started putting his stuff separately from Aang's, but Aang moved the divider.

"Um," Sokka said awkwardly, "What are you doing?"

He just shrugged in return, "I just got paid today, and I try to do at least one nice thing per day, so I got it covered."

Sokka gasped in shock, "Really?!"

Aang snickered, "Yeah, I got it." Sokka gave him a big hug. "Uh, you're welcome, I guess?" he laughed.

"Sorry, sorry," Sokka pulled away quickly, "It's just that I only have twenty dollars left until tomorrow, and I didn't expect anyone to pay for my stuff."

"It's cool man," Aang reassured him, "I'm glad to help." They heard a cough and turned to look at the cashier.

"If you guys are done chatting, you could-" she started but cut herself off as her eyes landed on Aang. "Um, hi," she said shyly, "I'm Meng."

Sokka gave Aang a weird look which he returned and shrugged, "Uh, hi Meng. I'm Aang. I'm pretty new to town."

"Oh, I know," she winked, "Everyone knows each other in this town, otherwise I would have recognized you. Isn't that right, Sokka?" Sokka didn't say anything for a moment as he was drooling over a piece of seal jerky. "Sokka!"

He jumped a little, "What? Oh yeah. The only way you don't know anyone here is if they're new. Small towns tend to work like that for some reason."

Aang chuckled, "Yeah, so I've noticed. If you want, you can get the seal jerky, Sokka. My treat."

Sokka's eyes widened, "Really?" he asked even more surprised.

"Yeah," Aang smiled, "I can see how much you want it, and it's only a dollar. Go for it."

"Thanks man! You're awesome!" Sokka cheered and threw it down on the counter, "Do you want one?"

"Nah," Aang shook his head in disgust, "I'm a vegetarian. I don't eat meat, so I'm good."

Sokka looked at him as if he had two heads, "How can you not eat meat?! It's the tastiest thing on Earth!"

He shrugged, "What can I say? I'm just not a fan of meat. Vegetables and fruits are a lot healthier, and I don't like the thought of eating something that used to be alive."

"Anyways," Meng interrupted as she scanned their stuff, "So, where did you come from? And do you have a girlfriend?"

Aang laughed nervously and rubbed his neck, "Uh, I'm from the South and I _do_ have a girlfriend." He shook his head at Sokka and mouthed "no" to him when Meng's head drooped, making him laugh at his new friend's attempt to spare her feelings.

"Oh," Meng said sadly before she perked back up, "Well, if you ever break up with her, I'd love to go out with you."

"Cool," Aang responded awkwardly, "Thanks, but I love her a lot, so I don't think that's going to happen. Thanks though."

The rest of the exchange between them was silent as Aang paid for their stuff and walked out as quickly as they could. "Wow!" Sokka exclaimed, "I know she can be awkward sometimes, but that was a new level of awkward."

"Yeah, I would have to agree with you on that," Aang nodded, "So, where do you live? I'll meet you there." Sokka gave him the address and he grinned, "Hey, it looks like we're neighbors."

Sokka beamed, "Cool! Now I can actually hang out with someone cool instead of stupid Hahn! He always eats all of my food and constantly tries to hit on my sister, even though she already has a boyfriend."

Aang looked at him in surprise, "You have a sister?"

"Yeah, don't remind me," he groaned, "Why?"

"I don't know," Aang laughed and shrugged,"I just for some reason can't really imagine you having a sibling. No idea why though."

Sokka chuckled, "Yeah, me neither sometimes, but unfortunately it's true. Come on, I need to get started on my baking and then we can play and see how good you really are." They both went to their cars and raced each other back to his house with Sokka just barely getting there before Aang.

"Hey!" Aang complained as he stepped out of his car, "You cut me off! That's the only way you won."

Sokka shrugged, "So? There's no rules in street racing."

"Fair point," Aang conceded with a laugh. They made their way inside while Sokka tried to start making the birthday cake for his girlfriend.

After a few minutes of unsuccessfully trying to read the instructions, he groaned loudly, "How is anybody supposed to figure this stuff out? It's impossible!"

Aang walked up and read the instructions, "Well, I know how to bake, so I can help you out." He took all the ingredients that were needed and followed all the instructions. After about ten minutes, all that was needed was for it to be baked in the oven. "There you go, man. Just keep it in the oven for fifty minutes and you'll be all set."

Sokka crushed him in a bear hug, "Dude, you saved my life! You're my Best Friend!"

"Easy there, buddy," Aang laughed as he forced Sokka off of him, "I can't be your Best Friend if I'm not alive anymore."

"Got me there," Sokka grinned, "Alright, well while we wait, how about you show me how good you really are."

"You're on," Aang agreed. Sokka started up his playstation and put the game in. Once the game finally started up, he put on a one-on-one match and gave a controller to Aang.

"Okay, how about we make this a little more interesting since you're so confident that you'll beat me," Sokka wagered, "I'll bet you the twenty bucks I have that I can beat you."

Aang smirked, "I hope you're ready to lose what little you have, Sokka." They laughed and started up the game. Aang quickly proved just how good he was, making Sokka look at him in disbelief.

"How are you doing that?" he gasped in surprise.

"I've had a lot of free time over the last few years," Aang explained without looking away from the screen, "If you do anything for long enough, you can get really good if you try." All of a sudden there was a knock on the door. "Looks like you've got company," he chuckled.

Sokka didn't say anything for a moment as he was too busy trying to get the ball back. When Aang dunked on him, he sighed heavily, "It would appear so," he grumbled, "I'll go see who it is." Despite what he said, he continued to play until there was another knock on the door. "Alright, alright, I'm coming!" He put the game on pause and got up to go answer the door. "If you want anything to drink, we've got water and soda in the fridge!" he called over his shoulder.

"Thanks!" Aang yelled back as he got up to get a drink.

Sokka walked quickly to the door, slightly annoyed that the toughest game of basketball he had ever played was being interrupted. He opened it up to see Katara standing there looking annoyed, "What took you so long, Sokka?"

"Sorry," he deadpanned, "I'm here with a friend and it was hard for me to come to the door when we were in the middle of a game." He waved her in and she shut the door behind her.

"Who's this friend of yours?" she asked curiously. "Oh no, don't tell me it's Hahn again," she groaned.

"Nope," he laughed, "It's a new guy. He just moved to town recently. He's actually really cool and is currently beating me at 2K right now."

"Sokka, _anyone_ could beat you at 2K," she chuckled, "What's his name?"

"Aang," Sokka told her.

She gasped, "Aang's here?" She pulled out her pocket mirror and checked to make sure her hair wasn't messed up.

Sokka narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her, "So, you like this guy, huh? What about Zuko?"

"I broke up with him today," she admitted.

"Finally!" he exclaimed while rolling his eyes, "Took you long enough!"

"Yeah, yeah," she waved him off, "Now, can you please casually tell him that I arrived without blurting out that I like him?"

He smirked, "What's in it for me?"

"How about I don't tell Yue that I saw you checking out Ty Lee a couple of weeks ago?" she threatened.

"Okay," he gulped loudly and nodded quickly, "Deal. Just don't tell her, please." She nodded and followed him out to the room. "So," he started loudly, "Sis, this is my new friend Aang. Aang, meet my annoying sister, Katara." She shot him a death glare before she turned around the corner and put her smile quickly back on. "Hey, Aang." she smiled flirtily at him.

"Um, h-hey K-Katara," he stuttered nervously, "I didn't know that you had a brother."

She giggled and tried walking up to him with 'The Sexy Walk', but she just ended up tripping herself so that she landed with her face on his rock hard chest. "Um, sorry," she mumbled awkwardly into his shirt, but remembered her plan, "Wow, you're so strong. Do you work out?" she asked while rubbing his pecs.

"Yeah, everyday at sunrise," he responded honestly, completely oblivious to her attempt at flirting with him.

"Wow," she breathed and started rubbing his arms, "Well, no wonder you're so strong. Maybe you can show me what your regular routine is sometime."

"Uh, sure. If you want to," he agreed, "But I get up pretty early, so I don't know if you'd be willing to do that."

Katara actually had to think about it for a moment. Like her brother and her father, she was _not_ a morning person, but if it meant she could see a shirtless Aang glistening in sweat from a hard workout while the sun rises, then it would definitely be worth it. "Yeah, I would love that," she cooed in his ear, causing him to shiver a little from how close she was to him.

"Heh heh," he rubbed his neck nervously, "Okay, sounds good. I start my workout at sunrise, which at this time of the year and at this location is at five in the morning."

She had to hold herself from groaning at how early that was, but she knew it wouldn't be a problem when she was there. "Alright, sounds good. Where do you go to work out?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, I just workout in my backyard. I do it quietly so I don't wake you guys up," he told her, "I used to have neighbors who didn't care and woke me up way too early, so I make it a point to _not_ do that to other people. Especially not to my friends."

"I appreciate that man!" Sokka called over from the kitchen as he pulled out the cake, "It looks perfect! I owe you one, bro!"

Aang smiled, "It's no problem, man! I'm just glad that your girlfriend's not going to kill my new friend yet!" Sokka laughed and walked back in to see Katara still on Aang's chest, unwilling to move from the comfortable position she found herself in.

"Um Katara, don't you… I don't know… want to get a seat that's _not_ on Aang's chest?" Sokka asked sarcastically.

She pretended to think about it for a moment, "No, I think I'm good. I'm pretty comfortable where I am right now," she winked at Aang, making him blush heavily. Sokka gave her a look and she sighed, "Fine. I'll get another seat." She reluctantly got up and grabbed another bean bag chair from Sokka's room upstairs and brought it down next to Aang's. As she took her seat, she wrapped her arms around Aang's arm and put her head on his shoulder with a content sigh, making Aang blush again at her close proximity. "There we go, all better."

Sokka just rolled his eyes and handed Aang his controller, "Alright, let's finish this. I'm probably going to lose, but I'm going to lose with dignity," he said confidently, making Aang and Katara laugh. Sure enough after ten more minutes Aang had won, but Sokka did not manage to escape with his dignity, due to having lost by forty points. "Damn! Well, fair is fair. Here's your money, man."

Sokka tried to offer him the money but Aang just waved him off, "It's cool man, don't worry about it. I knew I was going to win anyways, so how about we consider this a donation to the 'Broke Sokka' cause?"

"Wow," Sokka shook his head in disbelief, "Dude, you are _way_ too nice. I wouldn't have hesitated to take your money." He put the money back in his wallet and started up another game.

"So," Katara started while looking up at Aang while also running a finger lightly over his arm, "How are you liking living here so far?"

He smiled, "I like it. There's a lot of nice people here."

Sokka laughed, "Yeah, like Meng at the store, huh?"

"Oh no. What did Meng do this time?" Katara asked worriedly..

"Oh, she just took one look at Aang and tried flirting with him," Sokka laughed, making Katara growl lowly in her throat so Aang couldn't hear, "I'm surprised he was so nice about turning her down. I mean, she straight out asked if he had a girlfriend. Gotta give her credit though, she's bold."

"Well, I'm not going to be mean about it," Aang argued, "I already feel bad that I had to turn her down, and I wasn't going to be a jerk about it."

Sokka smirked, "Yeah, but you also didn't have to say you had a girlfriend. Now everyone in town is going to be asking you about who it is. How are you going to pass that off without anyone finding out about it?"

Aang cursed himself, "How did I not think about that?" He paused for a moment. "Well, maybe I can get a girl to pretend to be my girlfriend," he thought out loud.

Katara was about to happily volunteer herself, but Sokka interrupted her, "Or, you could just get an _actual_ girlfriend instead of a pretend one."

"Yeah, I could," Aang agreed nervously, "But I'm kind of waiting on this one girl to see if I can't win her heart."

Katara perked up as she heard this, "Oh? Is it anyone we know?" she asked hopefully.

Aang rubbed his neck nervously. "Uh, yeah, I think you guys do know her pretty well," he admitted cautiously, making Katara wonder if he was lying or not, "But that's not the point right now. I need someone to be my pretend girlfriend until I work that out, so any ideas?"

"Well, it might be a little work," Katara tried to be nonchalant, "But I think I could handle the job."

Both of the boys looked at her in surprise with Aang blushing. "What?" they both asked in astonishment.

"What? I'd be a good pretend girlfriend," she argued, secretly giddy inside at the blush that came from Aang's face when she volunteered herself. "We're already best friends, so I don't think it would be too hard for anyone to believe that we're going out. Besides, we look good together," she tried to hint to him.

"Um, I, uh…" Aang stuttered before composing himself, "Yeah, that could work. And we do look good together," he agreed with another blush, making Katara smile widely.

Sokka looked at them both as if they were crazy. "Fine," he sighed, "Good luck with that. If you're going to do this, you guys need to be prepared. People are going to ask questions, watch your body language, see how you guys act around each other, etc. So you're going to want to start getting into a couple mindset, otherwise they'll figure out you're not actually a couple very quickly." He paused and laughed, "Though I think you guys are already at a good start with Katara's arms around your arm, after all."

They both blushed, but Katara wouldn't let go of his arms. Aang looked at the time and saw that he should go, "Looks like I gotta go, I gotta get started on my little project that I told you about," he told him, "Thanks for having me over. We should hang out again sometime."

Katara pouted a little, "Do you have to go? You could stay for dinner," she suggested hopefully.

He smiled a little and shook his head, "Sorry, but I've got some stuff to do tonight. But, I'll see you tomorrow for my workout?"

"Yeah, I'll be there," she nodded happily.

Sokka chuckled, "Then maybe you guys can work on your 'relationship'." He walked up to Aang and gave him a fist bump while handing him the rest of the flour, "It was cool hanging out with you man. Let me know when you want to hang out again. You know where to find me," he joked.

Aang laughed, "Yep, I do. I'll see you later man. Bye, Katara," he waved with a smile as he walked out.

"Bye, Aang! See you tomorrow!" she called as he shut the door. She sighed happily and looked at Sokka who was shaking his head at her, "What?" she asked in annoyance.

"I can't believe that he didn't notice how heavily you were flirting," he admitted with a grin, "I mean, you had your arms around him while laying your head on his shoulder and volunteering to be his pretend girlfriend. And it all just went right over his head."

Katara frowned, "Damn it. I was hoping he would at least catch one of the hints I was giving him."

Sokka shook his head, "Nope, sorry sis. But now you've got a chance to see if he does like you or not. You can't get much closer to being his girlfriend other than being his pretend girlfriend."

"True," Katara agreed with a grin. "Do you think he likes me?" she asked hopefully.

"Well… it seems like it," he started thoughtfully, "But it seemed like Song liked me in ninth grade, but she didn't, so I can't say for sure. The only way you'll actually find out is if one of you confesses."

Katara sighed heavily, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Why does this have to be so hard?" she complained.

Sokka laughed and patted her on the back, "Hey, you've got it easier than me. At least you have a good chance with Aang. I'm surprised Yue even agreed to go out with me in the first place."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she grumbled, "Well, I have to get up early tomorrow, so I guess I should get out of here. See you later, Sokka." She waved and walked out of the house, leaving Sokka thinking for a moment.

"Why does it feel like I'm forgetting something?" he asked himself. It took him a moment, but he eventually figured it out. "Shit!" he yelled, "I forgot the frosting!" He ran out the door to get frosting for the cake to make sure it was ready for tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 5: The 'Couple'

Chapter 5: The "Couple"

**Responses to Reviews: **

**Guest: You are absolutely right. I swear, I had no intention of plagiarizing anyone and my plan was to have a page at the end of the story that would tell you what all of the Easter Eggs are and what Authors get the credit for them. I had no intention of letting people think that I came up with them, so I'm truly sorry about that. I have gotten in contact with SDB and he has agreed that it's okay for me to do it. The Cite page of all of the authors who I have borrowed from their stories and what quotes I borrowed from them will be posted at the end of the story for people to know where they came from and who gets the credit for them. Thanks for pointing that out to me, I didn't even realize I was unintentionally doing that. Thanks for reading and the review!**

**Javier: I'm glad you like the story so far! I agree, there aren't many good Kataang fics being made lately, so I figured I'd give it a shot and see if I'd be any good at it. And I would much rather be writing Kataang than any other ship in the show. I understand why other people who ship non-canon ships write so often since they couldn't get it from the actual show, but I can only bring myself to write Kataang because I love how simple and deep their love for each other is, and I love to be able to show that through the stories I write. Thanks for reading and for the review!**

**AnonymousKataang: This is in response to your review for "Marry Me". Thanks for comparing me to SDB, I consider that to be a great honor since he's my favorite writer on this site. Sorry that you were "crying your eyes out" but at least I brought it back to as you put it "cupcakes and rainbows". I like hearing that you'll laugh at yourself for that; not many people would admit to crying over a story, even if it's anonymously on the internet, so good for you. I'm generally not a fan of sad stories, but ones that end up with a happy ending I tend to like. And that song is a perfect example of what could have happened if Aang had never put himself out there, even if it's a Modern AU. As for your most current review: I guess you could say that Katara is talented at those. I agree about the break up speech, but only partially agree with the heavy flirting. Hence why she tripped herself trying to do the "Sexy Walk". And in case you were being sarcastic, it's rather hard to tell if someone is or not, so sorry if I misread that. Thanks for reading and the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. **

* * *

_Beep! Beep! Beep! _Katara groaned and slammed her hand down on her alarm clock. Unfortunately for her, her alarm clock wasn't an actual alarm clock, so it didn't work. She had forgotten that she used her phone for her alarms, and in the process knocked it off of her nightstand and out of reach. The alarm was still going off and she was still trying to sleep. After a few more minutes, she couldn't take it anymore and got up from the bed and grabbed the phone. Finally stopping it, she let out a sigh of relief and remembered why she had set an alarm in the first place. Excitement coursed through her as she ran around her room looking for a good workout outfit that she would look good in. She brushed her hair out so it was silky and smooth, even though it would likely be messed up from sweating too much later. When she was done, she looked in the mirror and smiled. She had picked out a short sleeve white t-shirt with a pair of gray yoga pants that she made sure showed off her plump butt. Satisfied, she put on a little deodorant and perfume and made her way to Aang's house. As she got to his front door, she heard what sounded like Earthbending coming from the backyard, but she just shook her head. There was no way Aang could be Earthbending. He was an Airbender after all. Taking a deep breath, she rung the doorbell and waited patiently until Aang finally came to the door. "Good morning," he greeted her with a smile, "I gotta admit, I'm kind of surprised you showed up on time. You don't seem to be the early riser kind of person."

"I'm not," she agreed with a laugh, "None of my family members are, but I _really_ want to see you workout." Her eyes widened as she realized what she said, "I-I mean I really want to see what you do for your workout. Heh heh."

Luckily for her, it just went completely over Aang's head as per his usual, "Well, whatever gets you up and running. It'll be nice having a workout partner for once, but you've got to promise to be quiet. I'd hate to have to wake up anyone because we're doing some really physical stuff."

Dirty thoughts flooded her mind when he said "really physical stuff", but she managed to push them out of her mind. Even if she was a virgin, that didn't mean that she didn't want to have sex. Especially if she was having sex with Aang, then she would _definitely_ want to. "Uh, yeah sure. I'm not a loud person, so it won't be a problem," she promised.

"Cool," he smiled again, making her insides melt, "Come on in. I can give you a quick tour if you want." She nodded eagerly and stepped inside. The house was huge on the inside, despite looking like an average sized house from the outside. The living room was bigger than her kitchen and living room combined. "As you can see, this is my living room. Since I'm an Air Nomad technically, I don't like to keep a lot of stuff, but I made sure that I at least have a couch, a table and a TV so I can keep up with the news."

Katara noticed a long stick that was hanging on the wall adjacent to the TV. "What's that?" she asked curiously.

Aang smiled widely. "That's my glider! Airbenders use them when we fly to control the air currents and move around quickly. You haven't lived until you've flown. It's one of the most amazing feelings in the world. I could take you sometime," he suggested.

"I don't know…" she started nervously, "I'm no Earthbender, but I prefer to stay safely on the ground rather than take my chances in the sky."

"Oh come on, Kat," he laughed, "I know it's scary at first, but once you're up there and you realize that you'll be fine, then you'll never want to come back down again. And I'll be there to catch you if you fall, so there's absolutely nothing to worry about."

"Kat?" she asked with a smile.

He rubbed his neck, "Uh, yeah. I just thought that since we're friends, maybe I could give you a little nickname. Unless you don't like it, I-"

"No no," she waved her hands, "I like it, it just surprised me is all. That's what my closest friends call me, so I was just surprised that you would pick that name for me."

"I could try to think of something else," he offered, "How about… Sweetie?"

Katara blushed, "Sweetie?"

Aang shrugged with an embarrassed grin, "I don't know… You're just so sweet. More so than anyone else I've ever met, so it just seems appropriate."

"Okay, you can call me that if you want," Katara agreed, "But if you get to call me that, then I'm going to call you that as well."

"You can call me whatever you want," he told her truthfully, "Whatever puts a smile on your face is good with me."

She blushed heavily, but smiled happily, "Okay. Well then it's settled. We'll call each other Sweetie."

He smiled back and took her hand, "Sounds good to me." She blushed deeper as he brought her out to the backyard. Once they were on his patio, she couldn't help but be amazed. His backyard was huge. It had various training dummies set up for different situations all over the yard. Some of them had rocks lodged them. Others had what appeared to be small ice daggers in them and some of them appeared to be slightly scorched, making her wonder if he ever sparred with other benders."These are my training grounds. I do my routine here everyday. It's the perfect set up to make sure I keep my Airbending training fresh in my mind while also getting my workout. If I don't do this everyday, it feels like I lose the part of me that's an Airbender, so I make sure to do it as often as I can." He turned to her, not letting go of her hand. "So what do you think?"

"It's amazing," she told him, "I don't think I've ever seen a set up like this for training in my life, and my grandfather owns a waterbending dojo." Aang randomly coughed, trying to cover up the look of surprise on his face. She looked at him with worry. "Are you okay, Sweetie?"

He grinned and squeezed her hand, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just had a tickle in my throat." She gave him a doubtful look. "I'm fine, Sweetie. I swear, it was just a little tickle."

"Okay," she said unsurely. "So, do you practice here with other benders? I noticed that other elements were used to beat up these poor dummies," she joked lightly.

He laughed nervously, "Um, yeah. I have some sifus who help me prepare for any situation I might find myself in. It comes in handy." Aang didn't want to lie to Katara, and he wasn't fully lying. After all, he _did_ have sifus who helped him prepare for any situation, but they never came to his house. It wasn't the truth, but it wasn't a lie either. As much as he hated lying to her, he couldn't do anything until he was officially announced as the Avatar. And until then, he would have to just be a humble Airbender. Not that once he was announced as the Avatar he would turn into a complete jerk or anything.

"Cool," she smiled, "Well, I came here for a reason. Care to show me your routine?" He laughed and nodded.

"How about this?" he offered, "I'll show you what I do throughout my workout, but after I show you each part of it, then we both do it together. That way we start to get more into that couple's mindset. Deal?"

She grinned, "Deal." He shook the hand he was already holding and brought it to his lips again. Katara looked at him curiously.

"What?" he asked confused.

"Why did you kiss my hand?" she asked, hoping he would say something she wanted to hear.

He shrugged and interlocked their fingers, "I'm just getting into character for being a couple. The best way to make it believable is to constantly be practicing. Have you heard of method acting?" She shook her head. "Okay, so when you're a method actor, you want to be as in character as possible to really tap into your part's emotions and give off a believable performance. So by acting like we're a couple all of the time, whether in front of a lot of people or none at all, we will continue to look like a real couple."

"Oh," she said in understanding, "I think I get it. So if we keep holding hands and stuff, we will start acting more like a couple without really trying."

"Exactly," he smiled and wrapped an arm around her waist, causing her to blush once again. "Thank you, by the way," he looked her in the eyes gratefully, "I really appreciate your help in this until I get my situation sorted out. I really don't feel like dealing with girls constantly asking me out."

She laughed a little, "What, have you had this problem before? I thought you were just a simple monk?" she teased him.

"Let me assure you, I am," he chuckled, "Though, I guess I can't _really _be considered a monk anymore."

"Why not?" she asked curiously.

It was his turn to blush. "Well… I've recently decided that I don't want to hold myself back from trying to find love, and I can't do that if I'm an official monk. Besides, with how few of my people are left, I can't really do that anyways. I have a whole people to repopulate, after all."

"Well, I've always wanted to have kids," Katara tried to hint to him, "I wouldn't mind having a lot of them."

Unfortunately for her, almost every hint she threw at him went right over his head. "I'm sure that'll come in handy when you're looking for someone to love," he smiled sadly. "Not that you'll need to do a lot to convince a guy to fall in love with you. Anyone who would turn you down is a fool if they don't see what they're missing."

She couldn't keep herself from rolling her eyes. _Well I guess you're a fool then! I've been throwing hints at you left and right and you've done absolutely nothing!_ she practically screamed in her head. "Thanks, Aang," she said politely to cover up the anger in her mind, "That's really sweet of you." She gave him a long kiss on the cheek, causing him to flush down to his neck.

"No problem," he chuckled nervously. "So, should we start with our training?" She nodded with a smile and he brought her out to the field. "Alright," he started, "I start my morning workouts off with some stretches. It's very important for your muscles that they aren't too tense while you use them, otherwise you will be very sore the next day. Just copy what I do." She nodded again in understanding and stepped back as he did some basic stretches which she copied. "Good, now let's do some more advanced stretches. Like this." He bent down with his legs straight and reached down to touch his toes. "There, like that."

An idea formed in her mind. "Hey Aang, can you check my form to make sure that I'm doing it right?" she asked sweetly.

"Sure," he smiled. She got into her position, but instead of doing it while facing him, she turned around and bent down, giving him a good view of her butt in yoga pants. "Am I doing it right?" she asked with a secret smirk as she heard him gulp.

"Y-yeah," he stuttered, trying and failing to avoid temptation, but after a moment finally managed to tear his eyes away from the see-through yoga pants

"Are you sure?" she questioned innocently, "I don't think I am. Can you come over here and check for me?" she batted her eyes at him over her shoulder.

He rubbed his neck nervously. "I'm sure you're doing just fine, Kat. It's not exactly a complicated move, so I'm sure a girl as smart as you are got it perfectly," he replied smoothly, making her giggle a little.

"Well I'm glad you have confidence in me," she sighed in fake sadness, "but I don't think I'm doing it right. It doesn't feel like I'm stretching anything." She looked at him between her legs with big sad eyes. "Please Aang, just this once?"

It took him a moment to fight an internal battle of whether he should help her or not. On one hand, the monk part of him told him it was not a good idea since temptation was literally right in front of him. On the other hand, the part of him that was most definitely _not_ a monk was chiding him for not going over sooner. Then there was the rational part of him. The part that told him to suck it up and stop being such a child just because she was bending over. That part won out and he walked over to her. He attempted to get to her front side but every time he tried to step around her she would stick an arm out to stop him. "Um Sweetie, what are you doing? I kind of need to get to the other side to be able to tell if you're doing it right or not," he asked in confusion.

"You can just lean over my shoulder and look," she suggested hopefully, "That's probably the best way to tell if I'm actually doing it right."

He raised an eyebrow, "How so?"

"Um…" she tried to think of something, "By doing it that way, you can look at it through the same point of view you would be looking through as if you were the one doing it. Then you can see if there are any flaws in how I'm positioning myself." She couldn't help but be a little proud of herself. That actually sounded like a logical standpoint and would likely encourage him to do as she was asking.

Fortunately for her, she was right. "Wow," he thought it over, "I never really thought about it like that, but it makes sense. Though it might be a little hard to see if your body's in the way of me seeing where your hands and arms are." He moved behind her and peered over as she backed up against him.

"Oops," she feigned embarrassment, "Sorry."

"No problem," he replied evenly. He attempted to look over her again, but she just backed straight into his crotch, making him harden a little. "Um," he gulped and backed up.

She looked over her shoulder with an innocent look, having felt him harden against her, "What? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," he laughed nervously, taking another couple steps away, "I just think it would be better if I helped you from the other side. It would help prevent a… problem."

Katara tried her best not to let out a laugh. "A problem?" she asked curiously, "What's the problem?"

"Uh…" he trailed off, trying to think of anything other than the truth. "Okay! How about we move on to the next part of the workout?" he asked a little desperately. She looked like she wanted to argue about it, but he gave her a pleading look, making her amused that she had affected him so much and reluctantly nodded. _At least I know he's physically attracted to me_, she thought happily, _Now I just need to see if he likes me for more than my body._ He motioned for her to follow and went to a low tree branch that had obviously been used for pull ups, if the cracks in it were any indication. "Okay. After I do my stretches, I like to do four sets of ten pull ups. Or, depending on the day, I'll just go until I can't go any more."

"Hmmm," Katara hummed thoughtfully, "How many can you do?"

He took a moment to think about it. "Well," he started in thought, "if I remember correctly, the most I've done in a row is eighty."

Her eyes widened to the size of plates. "_Eighty_?" she asked in complete astonishment.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Why? Is that less than I'm supposed to do?" he asked worriedly.

She shook her head quickly, "No, no. That's not it. It's just that most guys can't go past like, thirty, let alone eighty. No wonder you've got so many muscles." Her eyes slowly raked over his body with a hum of approval in her throat.

"Um, thanks," he said bashfully, for once having noticed her appreciation of his body. "Anyways," he continued, "I could try to beat my record if you want."

She nodded eagerly."Yes please," she smiled with a flirty wink.

He laughed a little and grinned. "You got it." He used his airbending and hopped up to the branch and looked over his shoulder, "You can count if you want, but this might take a while." She nodded in understanding and sat down on the ground. Katara couldn't keep her eyes off of him as she watched his slim but heavily built form work. _Totally worth getting up early,_ she thought with a happy sigh. After about ten minutes, his arms started getting weaker and he knew he didn't have much longer. Fortunately for him, he only had five more reps before he reached his record. "Almost there," he breathed out. After a few more minutes, he had gotten all he could in and floated safely back on the ground. He was surprised when he realized that he was in Katara's lap. "Oh, sorry," he smiled sheepishly.

"Hey," she chuckled, "who said I was complaining?" He blushed a little, but didn't bother trying to hide it, being too exhausted at the moment to do anything other than speak. "So, do I have to do the pull ups, or is that part negotiable?"

He shook his head with a deep breath, "No, not if you don't want to. Although, I bet that you could do more than me."

She raised an eyebrow and stroked his head softly, "Oh? What makes you say that?" she wondered.

"Just that you're one of the most determined people I've ever met," he told her honestly, "There aren't a lot of people like you in the world, but those who are just as determined as you can do anything they set their minds to. And you are _definitely_ no exception."

She smiled widely and kissed his head, "Thanks. That means a lot to me, Aang. It's amazing how we've only known each other for such a short time and already know each other so well."

"Yeah," he agreed with a grin, "it feels like I've known you for way longer than three days. Er, I guess it's more like three days and one morning, anyways." He looked up at her while she just smiled in return. "You know," he started without thinking, "you have some of the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. And I've been all around the world, so I know what I'm talking about."

Her blush went from her cheeks down to her neck, making her feel like her face was on fire. "Thanks," she said shyly, "Your eyes are beautiful, too. I haven't met any other Airbenders before, so I haven't seen anyone with gray colored eyes. Do only Airbenders have gray eyes?"

"From what I've heard, it sounds like it," he replied, "But I can't say for sure. There's bound to be other people who probably have Air Nomad ancestry who aren't Airbenders that have those eyes, but I can't speak from experience." She nodded and they sat there in a comfortable silence while he caught his breath. After a few minutes, he reluctantly got out of Katara's grip and stood up, offering a hand to her. "Come on, I would show you the rest of my push ups and other stuff that I do, but it's pretty self-explanatory. How about we have a little bending match?" he challenged her with a smile.

She looked around and didn't see any water sources. "Um, I would, but there doesn't seem to be any water nearby," she told him.

He walked over to the side of the house and turned on the sprinklers, catching her by surprise as freezing cold water shot into her back. A loud yelp sounded from the backyard and he ran quickly to see what happened. "Oh no, I'm so sorry, Katara," he tried to apologize as he pulled her away from the spouts, "I completely forgot that you were in the splash zone."

"It's okay," her teeth chattered a little, "It's just _really_ cold."

"Here, let me help." Aang walked over to her and wrapped her in a hug, using his firebending to heat up his body just enough to act as a sort of furnace.

"Wow," she stopped shivering and snuggled into his warmth, "You sure know how to warm a girl up." She blushed at the unintentional innuendo, but luckily for her, Aang was naive about such things.

Aang laughed and hugged her tighter, trying to let the warmth spread through her body. Before long, Katara was back to normal, but wanted to stay in his embrace a little longer and decided to pretend to still be cold. She dug her head into his chest and breathed in his scent, comforted by how it was so… him. "Do you think you're warmed up enough yet?" he murmured in her ear.

She wanted to say 'no' to stay in his arms a little longer, but she also wanted to show him just how good of a Waterbender she was. "Yeah," she sighed reluctantly, "I'm ready." He let her go and motioned for her to follow him. He led her to the middle of the yard where she would have easy access to the water and where they both would have enough space to duke it out without the training dummies getting in the way.

"Alright, here's the rules," he started, "Obviously no maiming or anything, no dirty tricks, and no breaks. Whoever gives up first is the loser and the other the winner. Do you accept these rules?" She nodded. "Cool. Whenever you're ready, then we'll begin." She didn't hesitate. Bending a large amount of water from the sprinklers, she turned it into a large chunk of ice and hurtled it at him, making him gasp in surprise at how quick she was. He dodged it before it got too close, and looked at her with awe. "That was amazing," he complimented her. "I don't think I've ever met a fellow bender who has wanted to hurt me so badly," he joked.

Katara smirked as she passed water between each hand, "Trust me, I don't want to hurt you, but I don't want to lose either. I guess we'll just have to see what happens." She turned the water that was in her hands into ice daggers and flung them at him, making him duck low as they passed by inches from his face. Luckily for him, his avoid and evade instincts were perfect for making sure that he didn't get hurt in such situations. "What are you waiting for, Aang? Are you afraid to hurt little ole me?" she batted her eyes at him.

"Not afraid, I just don't want to," he admitted, making her smile. "Not only was I raised to avoid fights, I don't want to hurt you in any way."

"Well how are you supposed to win if you don't fight back?" she taunted as she shot a wave towards him. She smirked, expecting him to just get washed up by it, but was surprised when she saw him jump high and completely avoid it, landing a few feet away from her.

"I guess you're right," he agreed, "I do need to start fighting back." He sent out a gust of air that disoriented her while he did a sweeping motion with his legs that knocked her off of her feet. When she didn't get up for several moments, he became worried. "Sweetie, are you ok-" but didn't get to finish his question.

She jumped up all of a sudden and sent him back ten feet with another large wave as he froze in surprise, completely not expecting her to fake being injured. When he finally came out of his shock, he looked up to see her laughing and laughed as well. "I'm sorry," she wiped a tear from her eye, "but that was too good of an opportunity to pass up."

He laughed again and shrugged, "Hey, I can't blame you. I probably would have done the same thing." Then an idea popped into his mind. "I bet you can't send a huge wave my way," he taunted her.

She raised an eyebrow. "What, the one I sent that you jumped over _wasn't _huge?"

"Nope," he snickered, trying to get her a little angry, "That was a wimpy one compared to the ones my sifu has sent at me. It was basically a baby wave." His plan seemed to be working as a look of anger came over her face.

"Oh, you want a big wave, huh?" she asked defiantly, "I'll show you a big wave!" She collected as much water from the sprinklers as she could and stacked it up so that it was twenty feet in the air. With a few motions, she sent it towering towards him, making her lose complete sight of him. He smirked knowing she had played right into his hands. Going underground, he Earthbended his way quietly as he made it behind her and popped up. Grinning, he tapped her on her shoulder, scaring her badly in the process. She squealed in surprise, but instead of falling down like he expected her to, redirected the water over to him, trapping him with the possibility of getting drowned in it and not having a way out. He tried airbending at it as it came towards him, but there was too much water for the air to make little more than a dent in it. _Oh no, this is not good. _He looked over to his neighbors yard which would be washed out from the large tidal wave coming towards it. Out of desperation to save his neighbors, he took the water's will and forced it back to the ground, spreading it evenly throughout the yard. "So much for being quiet," he grumbled to himself. Letting out a sigh of relief, he turned to look at Katara who's mouth had dropped to the floor. "Um, Katara?" he asked before realizing why she was in shock. "Oh."

"You… you just… and the wave... " she stuttered, completely mind blown at what she had just seen. She shook her head wildly, "You're…"

He sighed and nodded, "Yeah. I'm the Avatar..."


	6. Chapter 6: The Kiss

Chapter 6: The Kiss

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

* * *

"Yeah. I'm the Avatar…"

Katara stayed frozen, completely thrown from this new piece of information. _It all makes sense,_ she realized. All the dummies that had different elements still on them, his sifus who helped him "prepare for any situation", choosing to live in small towns. She shook her head roughly, "So… if you're the Avatar… why didn't you tell me?" she asked a little sadly.

He sighed and looked down at his feet, "Because I wasn't supposed to tell anyone who didn't need to know. I wanted to tell you, but if I did, then word would spread fast throughout the town and eventually to the rest of the world, making me a target."

"I would have kept your secret," Katara argued quietly, "I've kept a lot of secrets before and I'm good at it. No one would have known."

"Trust me Katara, I know that you would have," Aang stated while rubbing his neck, "but I was just following my orders. Have you ever heard of the White Lotus?"

She nodded, "Yeah, my grandfather is in it." Her eyes widened in realization. "Let me guess, you know Pakku, don't you?"

Aang smiled a little, "Yeah, he's a great guy and master when he's not talking about how only men should be able to learn water bending. I'm glad I could change his mind about that."

Katara looked at him in surprise. "You're the reason he teaches everyone now?" Aang nodded silently. "Well, I guess I have you to thank for me learning water bending. If you hadn't changed his mind, he likely never would have taught me. I begged for years for him to teach me, but he never would."

"Well I'm glad I could help you out," Aang smiled, "I just couldn't let him continue on with him being stuck in a tradition that's not fair to everyone."

She smiled back, but remembered the situation they were in. "So… you don't actually watch over animals?"

He shook his head, "No, although if I wasn't the Avatar, that would be my dream job. I love protecting nature." He paused in thought. "Though as the Avatar, part of my job _is_ to protect nature, so I guess I still could, it just wouldn't be a paying job."

"Is there anything else you lied to me about?" she asked suspiciously, "Is your name actually Aang or is that fake, too?"

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before Aang burst out laughing. Katara couldn't help but laugh after a moment; his laugh was infectious. He wiped a tear from his eye and grinned, "No, my name _is_ Aang. Everything else I've told you about is true, I just couldn't tell you about me being the Avatar and about my fake job." He walked up to her and looked her in the eyes. "Look Katara, I'm really sorry that I couldn't tell you that I'm the Avatar, but I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to you. You mean too much to me, and I don't want to lose you over this, but I'll understand if you don't ever want to see me again because of it." She didn't say anything for a moment, just silently watching him. "Um… is everything alri-" but was cut off with a kiss on the lips. His eyes widened in absolute shock, but sunk closed in bliss, finally getting to taste her lips after wanting to for what felt like so long. After a minute, she pulled away and looked at the pure bliss that was all over his face, not knowing what it was but being too scared to ask if he had enjoyed it or not. "Uh, what was that?" Aang questioned with a goofy smile.

She blushed and shrugged, "Just getting into character. It seemed like a couple kind of moment, so I did something that I thought would happen if we were an actual couple," she made up off the top of her head.

"Oh," Aang muttered disappointingly, but perked back up. "Well, I gotta say, that was pretty convincing," he complimented her. "You should be an actress."

"Thanks," she smiled sadly, They both stood there in silence for a moment before another question popped up into her mind. "So how did you afford those expensive earrings? I thought monks didn't like having worldly possessions like money."

"They don't," he agreed, "and I don't keep it all to myself. As the Avatar and one of the last air benders in the world, I get not only a portion of what money my people did have, but I also get paid by the government to do my job so I don't actually have to get a day job."

She raised an eyebrow. "How come your people had money? Doesn't it go against their way of life?"

He shook his head, "No, or at least, not as long as it wasn't a sole person's money. It was our collective money that we used to barter for goods and services. As long as any of it didn't belong to one sole person, then it's not something to tie us down to the Earth, and we only used them for things we needed that we couldn't get ourselves."

"Oh," she said in understanding, "I think I get it now." She smiled at him, "Well, thank you for getting them for me. They're beautiful." She kissed him on the cheek and grinned at the blush that spread across his face.

"You're welcome," he laughed nervously, "I just saw them and was reminded of your eyes. They don't shine as bright as yours do, but they definitely look good on you."

Katara tried her best not to jump him, but he wasn't making this easy. Even if she had gotten to taste his lips, that wasn't even enough. She wanted to kiss him without the excuse of being in character. She wanted to know that he at least liked her as more than friends and that he wanted to be with her. Then she would truly be able to enjoy the kiss, but until then she would have to hold herself back. "Thanks," she said shyly, "Sorry I didn't get to tell you 'thank you' on our little outing but I was too focused on getting to know you that I forgot to."

Aang put out his arms which she jumped into eagerly. "Hey, it's no problem at all," he murmured into her ear, "So does this mean I'm forgiven?"

"Of course," she chuckled, making Aang sigh in relief, "I wasn't really mad at you, I just wanted to make sure that everything I knew about you wasn't a lie."

"I understand," he told her, "I probably would do the same thing. But I promise, that's all I lied about. Now you know everything about me. I have no other secrets to tell you."

She pulled back and looked at him in surprise. "Do I really know _everything_ about you?" she asked incredulously.

"Absolutely," he replied, "Now that you know I'm the Avatar, there's not one thing about me that you don't know. You're the only person in the world to know all of my secrets and who I really am."

Katara couldn't stop herself from smiling widely. "You know you're really not making this easy." she thought out loud.

Aang quirked an eyebrow. "I'm not making what easy?" he asked curiously.

Katara blushed heavily, "Oh, I said that out loud?" she chuckled nervously.

"Yeah," he smirked. "So, what am I not making easy?" he asked deviously.

"Um…" Katara tried to think of something but couldn't.

"I know what you're thinking of, Katara," Aang grinned.

She gulped a little, "You do?"

He nodded without breaking his grin and stepped closer to her, their lips inches from each other. "You're thinking about how I keep saying these sweet things that make you want to jump me," he teased her.

Her face flushed all the way down to her neck. "I-I don't k-know what y-you're talking about," she stuttered.

"Are you sure?" his hot breath was on her face, "It sure seems like you do. What would you do if I did… this?" He grabbed her face gently and smashed his lips against hers, making her insides melt instantly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, trying to get him as close to her as possible. He wrapped his arms around her waist and let his hands roam around her body, eventually settling on her butt.

"Oh Aang," she moaned against his lips as he squeezed her cheeks. She reached a hand around and started rubbing him through his pants, making him groan into her mouth. He slowly lowered her to the ground and peppered her with kisses on her neck, making her sigh happily while he started taking off her pants. She pulled his head back to her lips and kissed him passionately, finally getting what she had been wanting since the day she met him.

He pulled away for a second and smiled at her, "I love you, Katara."

She smiled so widely she felt like her face was going to split in half and kissed him again when he stopped abruptly. She frowned, "What's wrong, Aang?"

"Katara," he whispered softly.

"What's wrong, Aang?" she repeated worriedly.

"Katara," he said a little more forcefully.

Katara snapped out of her daydream and shook her head wildly. She saw Aang standing in front of her waving a hand in her face. "Um, sorry what was that?"

He laughed a little, "I just told you that you're the only person in the world who knows everything about me."

"Oh," Katara said disappointingly with a sad face, "So it wasn't real."

"What wasn't real?" he wondered when the realization hit him, "Oh, you were daydreaming. Sorry. I must be boring you pretty badly if you're daydreaming."

Her eyes widened and she shook her head furiously, "No, I swear, you're not boring me. I was just lost in imagining something I would really like to happen."

"Okay," he said unsure, "So what were you daydreaming about?"

"Uh, I don't really remember," she lied. He didn't look convinced. "It's not important," she amended, "It was something silly." He looked like he wanted to question her more, but he didn't say anything else.

"If you say so," he shrugged, "So, I guess our little training session is over, though it went a little different than I expected it to."

She giggled, "Yeah, I'm sure. You probably weren't expecting anyone to find out your secret yet, were you?"

"Nope," he chuckled, "but that's alright. If anyone had to know my secret, I'm glad it's you."

Katara smiled widely and hugged him, making him chuckle again and hug her back. "I'm so glad I met you, Aang," she murmured.

A smile to rival her own spread on his face, "I'm glad I met you too, Katara." They stayed there for a couple of minutes until they were interrupted by her stomach rumbling.

She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry," she apologized, "I usually have eaten something by now, so my stomach's not too happy about being empty it seems."

He gave her a concerned look. "You haven't eaten yet?" he questioned. She shook her head in reply. Grinning, he took her hand and started dragging her inside.

"What are you doing, Aang?" she asked curiously.

"Well," he started as he held the door open for her, "I'm going to get dressed and then we're going to go get some breakfast. Wherever you want, my treat."

Katara smiled and walked in with him not far behind her, "You don't have to get me breakfast, Aang."

"I know," he responded with a shrug, "but I want to. As a thank you for helping with my workout today. It was a lot more fun doing it with someone else for a change."

She looked like she wanted to argue, but she could tell that he wasn't going to back down. "Okay, if you insist," she sighed.

"I do," he assured her, "Now if you could just wait a moment for me to go put on a shirt real quick, then we'll get going."

"Or you could just go shirtless," she half-joked, not wanting him to put on a shirt.

He laughed and rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I'm sure that's just what whatever restaurant we're going to needs: A shirtless sweaty guy who'll stink up the place."

"Oh, I'm sure they wouldn't mind," Katara protested, "Most of the people in this town are lonely women, so they would probably _love_ to see a shirtless hot guy."

Aang blushed and rubbed his neck. "You think I'm hot?" he asked shyly.

She blushed in return and looked away, "Well, yeah… look at you. You're good looking and strong with _lots_ of muscles. That's what a lot of girls tend to find hot."

"Thanks," he laughed. "Glad to know that my best friend thinks I'm hot," he teased.

Katara tried not to blush again, but did not succeed. "Oh shut it. Go get your shirt on, I'm hungry," she fake grumbled. He just grinned in reply and ran upstairs to get a shirt on. Once she was sure he was gone, she laid down on the couch and groaned. "You're not making this easy, Aang," she mumbled to herself, "Why can't you just be easy to read? Why does it have to be so difficult to know if you like me back?" She was met with no response. "Ugh," she thudded her head against the couch cushion repeatedly.

Aang came running down the stairs with a shirt on to see her thumping her head against the couch. "Um, are you okay, Sweetie?" he asked, just barely stifling a laugh.

"What?" her head shot up and looked at him. "Oh, you scared me. You're pretty light on your feet, you know. I didn't even hear you come downstairs," she complained.

"Sorry," he apologized sincerely, "I can't really help it. Years of airbending training can do that to you."

She gave him a reassuring smile, "It's okay, Aang, I was just kidding." She stood up and took his hand, dragging him out of the house. "Now come on, I believe you promised breakfast, and I'm hungry." They both laughed and got into his car and drove off to get something to eat.

* * *

Sokka was excited. He had finally managed to make everything perfect for Yue's birthday, and he couldn't wait to see her reaction. There had been so many botched attempts at making her birthday great that her standards had been set super low, and he was more than happy to raise it back up, even if it was just a little bit. The cake was perfect, all of the decorations were in place and looked great, and he had her present all ready for her. The surprise party he had planned for her would go off without a hitch and he couldn't wait to see her face when she walked into it. Since she had come into his life, he had been nothing but grateful for her. She had helped him get over Toph when she dumped him, she had been there for him when he missed his mom, which was quite often, and she helped him see the world in a way he never would have thought of. She had even somehow gotten him to like some vegetables. Something that was completely unheard of from him. His life had been changed for the better since she became his, and he wanted to show her just how much he appreciated that.

A yawn and footsteps sounded from the stairwell as he snapped out of his thoughts. Smiling to himself, he walked quickly to her and kissed her passionately. She gasped against his lips, but kissed him back as much as she could despite still being very tired. After a couple minutes, he pulled away and smiled at her, "Happy Birthday, Yue."

She smiled back. "Aw, you remembered," she rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek.

"Of course I did," he chuckled, "How could I forget the most amazing girl in the world's birthday? I might not always have the best memory, but you mean the world to me, Yue. There's no way I'm ever going to forget your birthday."

Yue raised an eyebrow. "Who are you and what have you done with Sokka?" she teased, "My Sokka can barely remember his own name, let alone my birthday."

"Ha, Ha," Sokka rolled his eyes and kissed her cheek, "I know I'm not usually serious and like to goof around a lot, but I'm absolutely serious when it comes to you. My life has been amazing ever since you've come into it, and I'll never forget how you've always been there for me. I never thought a guy like me could get a girl like you, but I'm very happy that I was wrong. I love you so much Yue, and I want you to know that you mean everything to me," he finished with a smile.

Her eyes welled up with tears as she grabbed him by his shirt collar and yanked him to her lips, his yelp of surprise muffled as they connected. She slowly pulled away and wiped the tears from her eyes, "I love you too, Sokka. I know that I might gripe about you being immature sometimes, but I love how you never fail to make me laugh and how you always know how to cheer me up. Thank you for coming into my life and making it better."

He couldn't help the tears that made their way down his face and hugged her tightly, not wanting to ever let go. After a few minutes, Yue stomach rumbled and he laughed a little. "I guess you're hungry, huh?"

She smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, sorry."

"Hey, don't be sorry," he waved his hands, "It actually works out perfectly because since it's your birthday, you get to pick wherever we eat today, my treat."

"Really?" she asked excitedly.

"You bet," he replied with a grin, "Wherever you want, that's where we'll go. Today is all about you, so whatever you want is good with me. Even if it's that vegetarian place you like," he shuddered in disgust.

Yue laughed, "Wow, you're really serious. You hate that place." He nodded and she thought about it. "How about we go to the diner on fifth and first? They've got the best pancakes I've ever had. And they've got all the meat that you could ever want."

"Hey, this isn't my birthday," Sokka protested, "Pick whatever _you _want, not what you think I would like."

"But I do want to go there, Sokka," she assured him, "It just so happens to be a bonus that you can get good quality meat while we're there."

He looked at her dreamily, "What did I ever do to get such an amazing girlfriend?"

"Bribed my dad," she joked, causing him to frown. "You know I'm just kidding Sokka." She kissed him on the cheek. "Even if you did bring him a sack full of meat while you picked me up for our first date."

"Hey!" Sokka complained, "He seemed to like it, so I don't know what you're complaining about."

She snickered, "Sokka, you ate half of the meat that was in the bag before you even got there." She paused in disgust, "Some of it wasn't even cooked."

Sokka rubbed his neck, "Yeah, I was really nervous, and I'm extra hungry when I'm nervous. Sorry."

"It's okay, honey," she laughed and grabbed his hand, "Now come on, I'm hungry and since you're paying, I'm eating my weight in pancakes."

"Spirits, I love you so much," Sokka sighed happily, "I wasn't lying when I said that you're the most amazing girl in the world."

Yue chuckled and shook her head at him, "Thanks, suck up. Now let's go, I'm hungry!" She dragged him out to the car and drove off to the diner. As they drove, Yue looked out the window and noticed a car that looked familiar following them. "Um, Sokka? Does the car behind us look familiar at all to you?"

Sokka looked in the rearview mirror and sighed, "Yeah, that's Zuko's car. He's probably following us hoping that we'll lead him to Katara." Sokka turned on his blinker and took a right at the light.

"Sokka?"

"Yeah, honey?" he asked while looking back at Zuko again.

"What are you doing?" she asked confusedly, "The diner's the other way."

"I know," he responded simply, "but I don't want Zuko ruining our breakfast by stalking us all day, so I'm going to make him lose our trail before we go eat."

She gave him a side-long glance, "And how do you plan on doing that?"

He made another right turn down a super narrow alleyway that the car just barely fit in and concentrated on getting through. "By doing this," he gritted his teeth, trying his best to squeeze through it without touching the walls. After a few minutes of slowly driving through, he made it out and turned right. Looking behind again, he let out a sigh of relief. "Good, it worked. Now he'll be wondering where we went."

Yue looked at him, "Couldn't he have just waited until he saw which way you turned and then loop around to find us again?"

Sokka nodded. "Yeah, he could," he admitted, "but to loop around he would have to either go forward until he turned right which is at least four blocks away before he could do that, or he would have to do an illegal u-turn, and he can't risk doing that because he's one ticket away from losing his license, so it's not a problem."

"Wow," Yue smiled, clearly impressed, "That's some really quick thinking Sokka. How did you know to do that?"

He grinned, "Well, I've sort of done it before." She raised an eyebrow at him. "I was getting chased by a cop one day for speeding and really didn't want to get a ticket, so I found that alleyway and took a chance since I knew how skinny this car is. And I knew that Zuko's fancy schmancy car would be too built to get through it, so it all worked out."

She shook her head at him, "Sometimes Sokka…" she sighed. They pulled up into the parking lot for the diner and walked in. He held the door for her as she smiled and kissed him on the cheek, making him pump a fist in the air and her to laugh at his silliness. The diner was fairly busy as was usual, but not too busy where they could definitely could get a booth. As they walked up to the front, Yue noticed Katara sitting and talking to somebody. She was laughing and staring dreamily at him, making Yue confused. Wasn't she still dating Zuko? She had never been like that around him, and he obviously wasn't there since he was just following them, so who was she talking to now? Sokka seemed to notice them too and walked up to them with Yue not far behind.

"Hey guys!" Sokka greeted them with a smile, "You guys look like you're having fun."

Katara glared at him, "Shut up, Sokka!" She noticed Yue and gasped. "Happy Birthday, Yue!" she jumped up and tackled Yue in a hug.

Yue chuckled, "Thanks Kat, but what are you doing here?" She looked at her companion and noticed it was the new guy in town. "Want to introduce me?" she asked her.

"Of course," Katara smiled, "Aang this is Yue, my best friend and Sokka's girlfriend. Yue, this is Aang, our new neighbor and my new best friend."

Aang stuck out his hand, "Nice to meet you, Yue. I've heard a lot of good things about you from both of these guys. You seem to be pretty popular with them, especially Sokka," he winked.

Yue giggled which made Sokka frown a little and she shook his hand. "Nice to meet you too, Aang. Welcome to Rivertown," she told him politely, "I think you'll like it here." She turned to Katara. "New best friend, huh?" she fake pouted, "I thought I was your best friend."

"I can have more than one best friend," Katara laughed, "Sorry Yue, I guess you'll just have to share."

She faked a sad sigh in response, making everyone laugh. Then a question popped into her mind, "No offense to Aang or anything, but why isn't Zuko here? Don't you guys go on your little dates on the weekends?"

"Nope, not anymore," Katara shook her head, "I broke up with him yesterday."

Yue let out a sigh of relief, "Finally! Took you long enough!"

Sokka laughed and kissed her on the cheek, "That's what I said!" Everyone except Aang laughed, not wanting to laugh at someone he didn't even know, even if he was rather rude to him the first time he met him. "That's why I said he was trailing us to find Katara," he explained.

"Oh," Yue said shortly, "I always knew that guy was… _different_, but I didn't think he would try to stalk her brother in an attempt to find your sister. That's kind of insane."

Katara snorted, "Tell me about it. He tried to force me to not go on an outing with Aang because he thought I was going to cheat on him."

Aang looked at her in surprise, "Really?"

She nodded. "Yeah, he said that all it takes is one smooth talker to come in and steal a girl. The guy's such a hypocrite, I mean-" she looked at Sokka and stopped herself, "He's just a jerk. I gave him absolutely no reason for him to think I was going to cheat on him or leave him, and he just assumes I was going to? What kind of paranoid person has so little confidence in themselves that they have to worry about something like that?"

Sokka shrugged, "Zuko, I guess." They all laughed and Katara nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I guess so." She turned to look at Aang with a smile. "Well, at least not _every_ guy is insane. Aang here actually knows how to act like a normal human being, which seems to be a rare quality in men these days."

"Hey!" Sokka complained, making everyone laugh.

Yue giggled and took his hand, "Sorry honey, but she's got a point." She noticed Katara staring dreamily at Aang as he took a bite of his food. "Um Sokka, could you go get us a booth? I'll be right over." He nodded and went to get them a seat. She turned her attention to Katara, "Hey Kat, do you mind if I talk to you for a minute?"

Katara nodded and looked over at Aang. "I'll be right back, so don't you go anywhere," she practically demanded.

Aang grinned and waved her off, "Trust me, I'm not going anywhere without you. I'll wait." Katara smiled and waved back to him, sighing happily as they walked over to the entrance room, making sure that Aang wouldn't be able to hear them. "So," Yue started, "I see that you like Aang a lot. Have you found out if he likes you back yet?"

Katara sighed sadly and shook her head. "No, not yet," she frowned, "I've tried giving him hints, but even Sokka said they're going straight over his head. I even accidentally told him I thought he was hot and he didn't seem too fazed by it. I don't want to tell him how I feel if he doesn't feel the same, but he keeps doing these cute things that make me want to jump him and I don't know how much longer I'll be able to hold back."

"Kat," Yue put a hand on her shoulder, "I know it's not going to be easy, but it's obviously not helping to keep it in any longer. You need to tell him now. Even if he doesn't feel the same now, that doesn't mean he would only ever think of you as a friend. Maybe eventually he would grow to like you as more than friends as you get to know each other more. Life is full of risks, Katara, and this is just one of many. You can't keep putting this off if you ever want to find out how he feels about you. Take a shot and see what happens."

Katara thought about it for a moment. "You know what? You're right," she told her, "I can't keep hiding this forever and it's going to slip out eventually anyways. I might as well be in control of the situation instead of it coming out of nowhere. I'm going to tell him how I feel," she finished determinedly.

"That's right," Yue encouraged, "Remember: You're Katara Rivers! You can do anything!"

"Yeah," Katara smiled proudly, "I _can_ do anything. I'm going to march right up to him and tell him how I feel!" As she was about to make her way back to the table, a large crash came from the other room. "Uh, we should probably go check that out." Yue nodded in agreement and they ran out to see what had happened only to discover Aang missing and Sokka slumped against a wall.

Yue gasped, "Sokka, are you alright? What happened?"

Sokka groaned and shook his head, but snapped to attention when he regained his bearings. "Zuko! He came in here and started yelling at Aang and took him outside. I tried to stop him, but he slammed my head against the wall and left me here. We need to go help him!"

Katara shook her head. "No Sokka, I'll go find them. Yue, check to make sure he's okay. If he is, come find me and we'll see what's going on." Yue nodded and Katara ran out the front door, looking around for any clue as to where they could be. She heard some yelling come from behind the building and ran around to find Zuko holding Aang up against the wall. Or, more like attempted to considering he was smaller than Aang. She was just about to jump in and help when Zuko yelled out, "Stay away from Katara! She's mine, not yours!"

"I know she's not mine," Aang told him simply, "but she's not yours either. She broke up with you, and now I can see why. I haven't done anything to you to deserve this, and now you come and put me up against a wall and threaten to kill me over a girl you dated for two months? I hate to say this, but you need serious help man."

"Shut the hell up!" Zuko spat in his face, "You took her away from me! This wouldn't have happened if you had never showed up in this town. My father should have finished the job before he got caught."

Aang's eye twitched. "Your father? Your father was one of the murderers who almost wiped out my people?" he asked menacingly, barely controlling his rage.

Zuko smirked in satisfaction, "Yeah, he was. His proudest kill was a certain air bending master. What was his name…" he trailed off as if in thought, "Oh yeah! Gyatso!"

Aang's eye twitched even more, but he took several deep breaths before he trusted himself to speak again. "Your father is a monster, and I can see the family resemblance," he growled lowly, "My people never did _anything_ to offend or hurt anyone else, and they were nearly made extinct just because they wanted to kill the Avatar. And what good did it do them? Now they're all in prison and will be there for the rest of their lives."

"I'm not here to talk about the almost complete decimation of your people," Zuko sneered, "I'm here to make sure that you stay away from Katara."

Aang shook his head at the Fire bender, "Look Zuko, you seem to think that she has feelings for me. Let me assure you, she doesn't, so you don't have to worry. She only thinks of me as a friend."

Zuko laughed bitterly, "Yeah right. I've seen the way she looks at you. She clearly does. Do you still have feelings for her?"

Katara gasped but remained silent, knowing she would want to hear what he had to say. Aang laughed at Zuko incredulously, "Of course I do!" he admitted exasperatedly, making Katara smile widely despite the situation she was in, "How could I not? She's the most amazing girl in the world. You would have to be a fool to not fall in love with her!"

"I knew it!" Zuko yelled angrily, "So you do love her!"

Aang gave him a "duh" look. "Um, isn't that kind of what I just said?" he asked sarcastically, making Katara's heart pound furiously. _He loves me!_ she thought happily before she reminded herself of the situation.

Finally hearing what she wanted to, she stepped around the corner and bent some water from a puddle at Zuko. "Leave him alone, Zuko!"

Zuko saw the water come towards him and shot some fire at it, making it evaporate and drift off into the sky. "You're not helping him, Katara. He's going to pay for taking you away from me, and then he's going to die."

"You're insane Zuko!" Katara yelled at him, "We dated for two months! We never even loved each other! Calm down and let him go!"

Aang finally decided he had enough. As much as he hated fighting, this was either fight or die, and he couldn't die, not yet. He got out of Zuko's grip and blasted some air at him, pushing him back into a wall. "I'm done with this game, Zuko," he said tiredly, "We don't need to fight. You can walk away from this right now and I won't press charges."

Zuko groaned and slowly got up, rubbing his head as he glared at Aang. "Press charges?" he snickered, "I'm completely rich. Even if my father is in jail and makes me get a job to get money from our family wealth, I still have enough to pay off whatever judge or jury tries to stand against me. I'm untouchable." He shot a few flames at Aang who air bent them into nothingness. Knowing he wouldn't be able to take them both, he got an idea. He threw up a flame wall to distract them and snuck up behind Katara, putting a glowing hand against her face. "Give up! She's mine again, and if you try to do anything to stop me, I'll burn her pretty little face off!" Katara tried kicking him in several places to get his grip off of her, but to no avail.

"Let go of me, Zuko! I'm not your slave!" she shouted, trying desperately to get out of his grip. His hands got hotter with every movement she made.

Aang didn't know what to do. He couldn't let Zuko take her away, but if he tried anything, she would get severely injured. "Don't hurt her!" he shouted angrily at Zuko.

"Oh, what are you going to do?" Zuko laughed, "Blow me away? Your people are weak, just like you. No wonder they all died so easily. If they were as weak as you are, then they were a sad excuse for human beings."

Aang felt his control start to slip from him as Katara whimpered in pain from Zuko's rapidly heating hand. Out of desperation as the heat scorched her face, she yelled out, "Aang!"

He closed his eyes as his rage and fear for her finally consumed him. After a moment, he slowly opened them to glare hatefully at Zuko. Zuko gasped as he looked into his blank white eyes and his glowing tattoos. "The Avatar…"


	7. Chapter 7: Avatar Unleashed

Chapter 7: Avatar Unleashed

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. **

* * *

White. Zuko had seen white on plenty of things in his life. It was the color of his skin, it was the color of the snow that fell down during the long winters there in Rivertown, and it was the color of his expensive rolls royce. He had never had a problem with the color before, even deeming it to not be a color at all since it was so… blank. So colorless. Only when he stared into the furious blank white eyes of the Avatar did he realize just how much a color could scare him. It was a fair warning to his inevitable doom. Aang's fury couldn't be matched by anyone else on Earth. Not only had Zuko taunted him about his near-extinct people, he had hurt the girl he loved. And he would be made to suffer.

Aang slowly rose up on a ball of air into the sky, his glowing tattoos blinding everyone who could see as they sent out bursts of unmatched energy from his rage, causing the town around him to shake with every burst. He turned his attention back to Zuko with a rage that could scare off a horde of starving lions. "Zuko Agni," he called to him; his voice mixed with his thousands of past lives together. "You have dishonored my fallen people and have hurt the innocent. Let her go or die."

"No!" Zuko yelled back defiantly, "I don't care if you're the Avatar or not! She's mine!" He kept his tight grip on her as Katara just stood in awe of Aang's power.

"This is your final warning," Aang warned him angrily. "Let her go _now_ or perish into oblivion." Zuko didn't move a muscle. "Very well then. You have sealed your fate." Using a strong gust of wind, Aang yanked Katara out of Zuko's grip and brought her safely behind him, ensuring that she received no further damage than she already had. Once he was sure that she was fine, he turned back to Zuko. "You have chosen death." Aang took some water from the nearby lake and surrounded himself with it. Fire shot out of his mouth and surrounded him. Lastly, he took some Earth and made it surround him as well.

Zuko gasped, "No... " He turned around to try and run, but Aang knocked him off of his feet with a gust of air and earth bent him to the ground, trapping him. "Please don't kill me!" Zuko begged, tears streaming down his face. "I'm sorry! I won't do it again!"

"That is a risk I cannot take, I am afraid," the Avatars' informed him without much regret. He wasn't in full control of his body, but a part of him wanted this to happen. Anyone who would hurt someone like Katara deserved to die. Aang took some of each element and made it into a spear head, hovering it above Zuko.

Katara finally snapped out of her shock and saw what was happening. As much as he deserved it, she couldn't let Aang do this to himself. He would be betraying what his people taught him, and she loved him too much to let him regret that for the rest of his life. "Aang!" she called up to him desperately. He didn't seem to hear her. She tried again to no avail. She ran so that she was in front of Zuko. "Aang! I'm alright! There's no need to kill him!"

Aang finally looked down at her. "He has hurt you, Katara," his multi-layered voice reasoned, "He knew what he was doing would lead him to where he is now. His fate is sealed."

"No!" she called out desperately. "You can't do this, Aang! Remember your people! They wouldn't want you to do this! Think about them and what they taught you! Please!" she begged.

He hesitated. Zuko certainly deserved this fate, but Katara was right. He couldn't kill a person, his people would be so ashamed of him for killing a defenseless person. Not to mention what the rest of the world would see him as if he did. His anger slowly subsided and he was lowered back to the ground, his tattoos and eyes slowly going back to normal as he reached the ground. The exhaustion of his rage wearing off became too much and he collapsed on the ground with Katara running to catch him. She got there just in time before his face hit the ground, saving him from a killer headache. He groaned a little and looked up, smiling weakly at her. "Thank you for not letting me kill him," he whispered gratefully.

She smiled back and wrapped him in a hug. "Of course, Aang. I would never let you do that to yourself."

The earth bindings on Zuko sunk bank into the ground and allowed him to look around. It took him a moment to realize that he was still alive, but once he did, he let out a relieved sigh and slowly started getting up. He noticed the situation and became angry again. "Hey!" he called to them, getting their attention immediately. "This isn't over! Fight me, Avatar!"

Katara's eyes widened. "_Really_ Zuko?" she asked in disbelief. "You _really_ want to fight him again when he just spared your life?" Zuko just nodded and got into a fighting stance. She shook her head at him. "Fine, you want a fight? Let's end this." She took a large amount of water that was left over from Aang's show of power and turned it into a dense ball of ice, shooting it so fast at Zuko's head that he didn't even get the chance to move. He fell back to the ground unconscious with a huge bump on his forehead. "So much for wanting a fight," she rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Aang. "Are you okay?" she asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he told her tiredly, "It's just that whenever I enter the Avatar State it takes a lot out of me. If I can just rest for a little bit, then I'll be fine." He smiled at her but remembered what he had admitted to Zuko before the fight had started. "Um… you didn't hear anything while Zuko and I were having our little talk, did you?" he asked nervously.

She smirked a little. "Nope, I didn't hear a thing," she told him, giving him a false sense of security as he let out a sigh of relief. "Oh you know, other than you telling Zuko that you love me."

His eyes widened as his mouth dropped to the ground, "Um… I-I didn't say that! I said-"

Katara cut him off with a finger to his lips. "Shhh," she shushed him. "It's okay, Aang."

"Look, I'm sorry Katara," Aang started sadly, refusing to look at her. "I know that you don't feel the same, but I can't help how I feel. I understand if you don't want to hang out with me anymore, but-" she put her finger back on his lips.

"Aang," she laughed a little, "Maybe you should listen to hear what I have to say first." He remained silent as she took a deep breath. "I love you too, Aang," she admitted with a blush.

His jaw went right back to the ground. "Y-you do?!"

She smiled at his reaction. "I do, Aang. I love you so much." She paused to think about how to get this out right. "I know that we've only known each other for a short time, but the more I've gotten to know you, the more I couldn't help but fall deeper and deeper in love with you. You're one of the sweetest and most caring and funny guys I've ever met." She glanced at his muscles that were just barely being held back by his shirt. "And it doesn't hurt that you're super hot, either."

He laughed a little, "Well, thanks. I think it's safe for me to say that I think you're hot, too." They both laughed and stared into each others eyes. He couldn't help but get lost in the depths of her oceans she called eyes. They were so deep, he felt like he drown in them not care at all. His staring into her depths proved to be an issue, however, as he was taken by complete surprise when she grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him to her lips, finally getting what they both had been wanting since the day they met. This came as a bit of a shock, but he kissed her back as soon as he realized what was happening. He wrapped his arms around her waist as hers came around his neck, trying to get as close to each other as possible. Unfortunately for them, it didn't last long.

Zuko finally woke up from his temporary nap and groaned. He looked up and saw them kissing, making his anger return once again. "Listen here Avatar, if you don't-" Katara and Aang split apart reluctantly and nodded to each other. Katara took the water from the ground and froze him there until Aang could move over there and bind him in earth. Zuko struggled to get free, but stood no chance, as all he could do was spit fire from his mouth.

Aang shook his head at him. "Why?" he asked seriously. "Why fight and fight for something that you're not going to get back? Do you really think that the girl you tried to kidnap is going to love you?" Zuko just glared at him, clearly not ready to stop fighting. "You're never going to stop, are you?" He responded with another glare. Aang let out a long sigh. "I didn't want it to come to this, but now you've given me no choice." He raised Zuko up from the ground so he was standing upright with an Earth chair holding him securely in place. Zuko growled as Aang walked up to him and put his hands on his forehead and his chest.

"What are you doing?" Zuko snarled. "Get your hands off of me!" Aang didn't say anything and took a deep breath. Zuko's eyes fell shut against his will and after a few moments, a large blast of light shot into the sky, signaling Zuko's final defeat. His earth restraints released him as Aang stumbled back and was caught by Katara.

"What did you do to him, Aang?" she asked in astonishment.

He smiled weakly at her, "I took his bending away." Katara gasped and Aang got up and walked over to Zuko who looked like someone had just kicked him in his privates. He reached out a hand to him. "I'm sorry that it had to be this way Zuko, but you just wouldn't stop. Now you won't hurt anyone ever again."

Zuko tried to throw a flame at him, but was surprised to find nothing come out. He tried again with his other fist, but failed once again. "What did you do to me?" he growled.

"I took your bending away. You won't hurt anyone ever again," he repeated. Zuko looked at him in disbelief, and then passed out from exhaustion. Katara walked up to him.

"So, what should we do with him? Send him to jail?"

"No," Aang shook his head. "There's no point. He already lost his greatest weapon, so he won't be a threat to anyone anymore."

Katara looked at him in bewilderment. "He could still try to kill you with a gun or a knife or something," she pointed out. "If we let him stay free, he will probably try to kill you."

Aang didn't say anything for a moment. "I know," he sighed, "but everyone deserves a second chance. Even if they're insane and have threatened to kill me several times."

She looked like she wanted to argue, but he gave her a pleading look and she gave in. "Fine," she grumbled. "He'll stay free for now, but if he tries to attack anyone ever again, then nothing's stopping me from turning him into the cops. Deal?"

"Deal," he agreed and took her hand in his. "So… we love each other?" Katara nodded with a smile. "Then would you like to go out with me?" he asked a little nervously.

Katara rolled her eyes. "Of course, you silly." She kissed him on the cheek, making him blush and grin back at her. Sokka and Yue came running from around the corner and saw the situation before them: Aang holding Katara's hand and Zuko being passed out.

"You didn't… _kill_ him, did you?" Yue asked nervously as she looked closely at him.

Sokka kicked him in the stomach and jumped back as Zuko groaned loudly in pain. "Nope," Sokka shook his head. "Definitely not dead." He turned his attention to the new couple. "So, when did _that_ happen?" he gestured to their joined hands.

Katara smiled widely. "Pretty much after we took Zuko down." She remembered the other two fights. "Or at least the _second_ time we took him down," she corrected herself.

"The _second_ time?" Sokka asked dumbfounded. "How many times did you have to fight him?"

Aang answered for her, "Um, I believe three times." They all laughed as Sokka's mouth dropped open. "I gotta give the guy credit, he's as stubborn as he is proud."

"Yeah, you could say that," Katara rolled her eyes. "At least now he won't be a serious threat to anybody." Sokka and Yue gave her a confused look. "Oh, Aang took his bending away," she explained nonchalantly, this time making both of her friends jaws drop.

Yue looked at Aang in amazement. "You did _what?_"

Katara just waved her off. "Look, I'm sure you guys have lots of questions, but it's been a long enough day as it is, and it's not even noon yet. Can we take this home and then answer your questions?" They both nodded. "Good," she sighed in relief. "Now let's head back to Sokka's place and we'll explain everything."

"Um, can we hang out at your place?" Sokka asked. "My place is kind of messy," he added while giving Katara a knowing look which she finally picked up on what he was trying to get across to her.

"Oh yeah, of course. Come on, let's go," she said hastily, noticing Yue's confusion and trying to keep her mind off of the topic. She stopped in her tracks when she remembered Zuko. "What should we do about him? We can't just leave him out here, can we?"

Sokka nodded. "Yes we can. He obviously came here by car. He'll wake up in a little bit and just drive home for another nap. He'll be fine." Aang looked like he wanted to argue, but Katara shot him a look and he gave up with a sigh. "Let's go!" They all made their way to their cars and went to Katara's house. As they walked up, a bunch of people who were crowded around Aang's house came surging forward, making Aang thump his head repeatedly.

"Shit, I forgot about that," Aang muttered. He turned to his friends. "You guys go inside. I've got to answer these guys' questions otherwise they won't leave me alone."

"Do you want me to stay out here to help?" Katara asked sweetly.

He smiled and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "No, I'll be fine. Besides, they would tear you apart if you tried to stay out here. Go on in and I'll meet you guys inside whenever I'm done here." Katara reluctantly nodded and they went inside as the reporters and camera crews finally made it to Aang, already asking far too many questions. "Alright! Listen up guys, because I'm only going to say this once!" They all went silent. "Yes, I am the Avatar. I will answer any questions you guys have as long as they are serious questions and are quick. I will only do this if you guys agree to leave me and my friends alone from here on out. Any protests or arguments?" No one said anything. "Okay then. Ask away." A reporter with a microphone raised their hand like a child in school. "You," Aang pointed to them.

"Avatar Aang," the reporter started, "How long have you known that you were the Avatar and how did you find out?"

Aang smiled at the memory. "I found out when I was twelve years old. I was airbending out by the waterfall near the temple I was living at and accidentally bent water from it. I freaked out a little and told my guardian about it who then revealed to me that I was the Avatar. Next question."

A young lady raised her hand and he pointed to her. "Avatar Aang, why have you waited until now to reveal your identity?"

"I _didn't _choose to reveal my identity, it sort of… slipped," he admitted. "The reason why I never said anything was because there are still some firebenders out there who want to kill me for reasons unknown. I guess it's too late now, but I am well-trained and am ready for anything." Another reporter raised their mic in the air. "You."

This time it was a young and rather attractive reporter, probably in her early twenties. "Avatar Aang… are you single?" she winked, making Aang blush a little.

"No, I'm not," he told her, getting a few disappointed sighs from the crowd. "My girlfriend Katara is actually inside of that house," he pointed behind him, "so I'm sorry for those who were hoping to have a relationship with me. Any other questions?" He went through at least twenty more questions until all of the reporters were satisfied. "Okay, I held up my end of the bargain," Aang said. "I expect you all to uphold yours. I do not want to see you guys at my home, at my friends' houses, or following me or them anywhere. Okay?" They all nodded in response and walked back to their vans except for the young reporter who had asked if he was single.

"So," she started, "is it true that you're not single?" He nodded. "Well is there any way I can change your mind?" she asked seductively while resting her hand on his chest.

"No, there's not," Katara answered for him, coming completely out of nowhere and pushing the lady back. "He's mine and he's not going to leave me. Right Sweetie?" she looked to him for reassurance.

He smiled at her and kissed her deeply, making her sigh happily and the reporter frown. After a few moments, he pulled back and laughed at the pure bliss on her face. "Right." He turned his attention back to the reporter. "I'm sorry, but I'm in love with her, so I'll be sticking around as long as she wants me." The reporter nodded silently and walked away. "Well, that was awkward," Aang laughed.

"Yeah, just a bit," Katara chuckled as she finally came back to Earth. She looked at him longingly. "I love you."

"I love you too," he grinned. She pulled him towards her and kissed him softly, loving the taste of his lips and enjoying the fact that she could kiss him without the excuse of being his pretend girlfriend. Now she was his actual girlfriend, and she was enjoying every second of it. After a few minutes, they pulled apart and smiled at each other. "You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that," he panted.

"Probably just as long as I have," she smiled.

"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow. "How long have you wanted to do that?" he asked curiously.

Katara blushed. "Well… since I first met you," she admitted with a sheepish grin.

He grinned back and hugged her tightly. "Yeah, you're right then. I have wanted to kiss you as long then. Pretty much since I laid eyes on you," he told her, making her smile and hug him tightly.

Sokka, being ever the one to interrupt such moments, opened the door and killed it. "Hey! You guys need to get back in here and distract her!"

"Shut up, Sokka!" Katara glared at him. "Can't you see that we're in the middle of something right now?" They both glared at each other until Aang wisely stepped in.

"It's okay, Kat. We can continue this some other time," he assured her. "Sokka needs us right now so he can do something nice for his girlfriend." He leaned in to whisper in her ear, "If we do this now, then I can do something nice for _my _amazing girlfriend later."

She shivered a little from his hot breath on her ear. "Okay," she agreed weakly, making him smirk and turned back to Sokka.

"Okay, we're coming, Sokka." he told him. Sokka nodded and motioned for them to come inside. Before Aang could open the door, Katara pressed him against it and kissed him passionately, running her hands through his hair as his did the same. They slowly pulled apart and looked into each others' eyes. "What was that for?" he asked breathlessly.

She chuckled, "_That_ was for turning me on at a really bad time." She pouted a little. "Now I really want you."

Aang laughed and kissed her. "I know, but if you can hold off until later, then you'll get what you want, I promise."

"Okay," she grumbled. "Only because I know that it would be a really bad time to do it right now." He laughed and took her hand and walked into the house. They made their way into the living room and sat down on the love seat as Yue flipped through TV channels, trying to find something good on. She finally landed on one she liked.

"Look guys! It's that show about the people who bend elements!" she said excitedly.

Katara raised an eyebrow. "Yue, _we_ bend elements," she pointed out. "I'm dating the Avatar after all."

Yue's eyes widened in shock. "What?! Since when is Aang the Avatar?!"

"Oh yeah, we didn't tell you about that part," Katara laughed. "Well, Aang is the Avatar as I just recently found out this morning."

Yue looked at him in shock, "Really?"

"Yep. Since the day I was born," he joked, making everyone laugh.

It took her a couple minutes, but the shock eventually wore off, at least mostly, and Yue shook her head. "Wow. My best friend is dating the Avatar. Never thought that would happen." She turned to Katara. "Look at you, Kat. Not only did you snag a hot guy, you managed to snag the Avatar too. All I got was a meat-obsessed joker who acts like a child half the time." She waited for a moment, waiting to hear a cry of indignation coming from Sokka, but nothing came. "Speaking of, where's Sokka?"

"Um… he went to the bathroom!" Katara made up on the spot. Yue didn't believe her for a second. "He did! When Aang and I were walking in from talking to the reporters, he was running off to the bathroom. Right Sweetie?" Aang didn't say anything, too absorbed in the show to pay attention to the conversation. She elbowed him, "Right, Sweetie?"

He finally snapped out of it and nodded. "Right. Sokka said he really needed to go to the bathroom, and from the smells he was giving off, he was probably right," he feigned disgust. Katara couldn't help but be impressed. For a monk, he was a well-practiced liar. Though she supposed he had to be since he had to keep his identity as the Avatar secret.

"Okay… if you guys say so," Yue said disbelievingly but let it drop. "So, have you guys seen this show before?"

They both nodded. "Yeah," Katara spoke up, "I've seen it. It's pretty good, but the fans for this show are kind of weird."

Aang raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "I've just heard that there are these things called 'shipping wars' that the fans get involved in." Yue and Aang both gave her a confused look. "It's basically your favorite romantic pairings of the show," she explained. "A lot of the fanbase picks a pairing and fights others about which one is better and which ones are going to be the ending pairings of the show."

"Oh, I guess that kind of makes sense," Yue said. "But why are they fighting about it? Can't they just root for their pairing and hope for the best? It's not like them fighting with each other is going to make their pairing win or anything."

"I have no idea," Katara laughed. "They just seem to get a little too involved in it, so they let themselves get worked up I guess." She turned to look into the hidden camera. "I'm looking at you, Author."

"Um Kat? Who's this 'Author'?" Aang asked confused.

Before Katara could respond, Yue squealed a little, "Yes! Waang and Latara kissed!"

Katara gasped. "Really?" she asked excitedly. Yue nodded and they both high-fived and did a little happy dance.

Aang laughed at their silliness. "You guys are just too cute." He pulled Katara down onto his lap and stared into her eyes. "Especially you." She blushed heavily but smiled back happily.

"Take that Rutara!" Yue cheered, causing Aang to be confused.

"Um, what's 'Rutara'?" he asked.

"Rutara is the pairing of the characters Ruko and Latara," Yue explained. "A lot of people ship them, but I know they won't end up together. There's been too many Lataang moments in the show and no Rutara moments. Lataang is going to win for sure!"

Katara couldn't help but laugh at Yue. "Thank you Yue for being the perfect example of what these shipping wars look like."

Aang chuckled. "Well, you seemed to be pretty excited when Yue told you about the Lataang kiss," he pointed out.

"Yeah," Yue agreed, "And you get mad whenever Rutarans try to bash Lataang."

"Okay, okay, fine! I get a little too involved in it. I get it!" Katara gave in.

"Not to mention that whenever someone says anything about Rutara, you get disgusted and pretend to gag," Yue laughed.

Katara groaned. "You just _have_ to bring that up, don't you?" she rolled her eyes.

"Yup," Yue smirked. "But it's okay, Kat. After all, it's not like you're getting a little too involved or anything, right?" she teased.

Sokka came running in, looking completely out of breath. "Guys! I forgot my wallet at my place! Can we go get it?"

Katara raised a brow. "Why do we have to go with?" Sokka gave her a look and she understood. "Oh, okay let's go. You guys ready?"

Aang nodded but Yue was hesitant. "I don't know… there might be another Lataang moment… What if I miss it?" Katara gave her a glare. "Fine," she grumbled. "Let's go." They all got up and walked over to Sokka's house. Sokka held the door open for Yue as she walked in. "Um… why is it so dark in here?" The lights turned on.

"Surprise!"a group of people she knew and loved greeted her.

Yue gasped. "A surprise party?" She turned to look at Sokka who had a smug look on his face. "You did this?" she asked him. He nodded and she tackled him in a hug. "Thank you!"

He chuckled and hugged her back, "Hey, anything for you, honey. Happy Birthday." Yue pulled back and smiled at him. "Now, how about we get this party started!" he cheered, getting everyone else to cheer back. The party was alive and well around them. People played games while others chatted and the birthday girl opened her presents.

Katara was the happiest she had been in a long time. She was holding the man of her dream's hand while he joked around with her brother, much like she envisioned when she spoke with Sokka not not even four days ago. She couldn't help but think about how lucky she was. Here was the almighty Avatar holding her hand as he laughed with her brother. Never in her life would she have thought this would happen, but here she was. And she couldn't be happier about it.

"Alright everybody!" Sokka called out, "It's cake time!" Everyone gathered around Yue and sang to her. After everyone finished, Katara leaned into Aang's ear and whispered to him. He blushed heavily and nodded. Katara smiled and grabbed his hand and dragged him upstairs, leaving a completely clueless Sokka wondering where they were going.

Yue's father walked up to him. "Thanks for throwing this party for my daughter, Sokka. I am very happy that she has found a young man that cares about her so much."

"I'm more than happy to, sir," Sokka replied. "She means a lot to me, and I would do anything for her."

Arnook smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. "Good. I'm glad to hear it." He leaned in and whispered, "Good luck with your plan. I hope it goes well for you."

Sokka nodded nervously, "Yeah, me too." Arnook patted him on the back and walked away. Taking a deep breath, Sokka walked up to Yue. "Hey honey, could I talk to you about something outside?"

"Um sure," Yue responded weirdly, wondering what he wanted to talk about. _There's no way he wants to break up with me… right? Why would he do this whole birthday party for me just to end up breaking up with me?_ The worry only settled deeper within her as he brought her outside. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Well," he rubbed his neck nervously, "I wanted to ask you something."

Her fear quickly turned into confusion. "Okay… what did you want to ask me?" _Is he going to ask me to have sex right now? That would be really bad timing. But if he was going to, why would he bring me outside to ask me?_

He took her hands in his and smiled at her. "Yue, we've been together for a couple years now. You've helped me in so many ways. I'm not the same guy I was when I met you, and I'll be thankful for that everyday for the rest of my life." He paused. "You're the most amazing girl in the world and I don't know what I would do without you. I want to be yours forever until death finally claims me, whether from old age or from what I choose to eat," he joked, making her giggle. He got down on one knee and pulled out a necklace with the Water Tribe symbol on it as she gasped and covered her hands with her mouth, tears falling down slowly from her eyes. "Yue, you're the love of my life, and I want to show the world just how much I love you." He took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. "Will you marry me?"

Yue was silent for a moment as tears kept spilling down her cheeks until she finally nodded. "Yes! Of course I will, Sokka!"

He beamed and kissed her fiercely, feeling relieved that she hadn't shot him down. They slowly pulled away and smiled at each other. "I love you, Yue."

"I love you too, Sokka," she smiled. "Now put that necklace around my neck right now!" she demanded, making him laugh at her eagerness. He did as she requested and smiled, happy to know that she finally his. "Now come on, we need to tell everybody!" They took each other's hands and walked back inside where everyone but Aang and Katara was waiting to hear what happened.

"Well?" Arnook questioned. "How did it go?" Yue showed off her necklace, making everybody cheer for the happy couple. Arnook walked up to Sokka clapped him on the shoulder, "Congratulations my boy, you have faced the toughest test in marriage."

Sokka's eyes noticeably brightened. "Really?"

"No," Arnook regretfully informed him while Sokka's face dropped. "There is much more to go through than that, but it will all be worth it as long as you're with the one you love. I promise."

"Yeah you're right," Sokka agreed with a smile at Yue, "It will." Arnook gave him a handshake and gave Yue a quick hug.

"Congratulations Sweetheart," he whispered into her ear. "I think you've landed yourself a nice young man."

Yue smiled and looked at Sokka who was talking to some guests. "Yeah, I think I have, too."

"Wait, where are Katara and Aang?" Sokka wondered. "I saw them go upstairs, but I haven't seen them come down yet." Yue and Arnook snickered, much to Sokka's confusion. "What?" he asked innocently.

"Why don't you just go find out honey?" Yue laughed. "I'm sure it'll all be made clear when you get up there." Sokka nodded hesitantly and went upstairs. He heard what sounded like a whale song coming from his room. _Wait a minute, why is someone in my room?_ Listening closely, he heard a loud "Oh Aang!" from the other side of the door.

His eyes widened and he kicked the door open angrily to see Aang and Katara underneath the covers trying to cover themselves up. "What the fuck?!" Sokka screamed.

"Get out, Sokka!" Katara yelled. "I'm kind of busy here!"

He turned his attention to Aang, "I'm going to kill you!" Sokka attempted to storm over to them, but Katara took some water from a water bottle and froze him to the wall outside of the room. Carefully taking one of the sheets and keeping it wrapped around her, she got up quickly and shut the door and locked it.

"Sorry Sokka! This has been a long time coming!" Katara yelled as she went back to the bed. Aang looked at her worriedly.

"Um, do you think he's actually going to kill me?" he asked nervously.

She laughed a little and shook her head. "No. Even if he wants to, I won't let him." He didn't look so sure, but she kissed him and stroked him, making him moan softly. "Don't worry about him right now. Let's just get back to where we left off..."

_Half an hour later…_

Aang walked out of the room and held the door open for Katara who rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek. "Wow, that was amazing," he breathed.

"Yeah, no kidding," Katara chuckled. As he closed the door behind him, she pressed him up against it and kissed him passionately, making him smile against her lips. She slowly pulled back and smiled at him. "I love you, Aang."

"I love you too," Aang whispered back. "Now, let's go see if your brother is a man of his word or not," he joked, making Katara laugh as they walked downstairs. When they arrived, most of the guests were gone and an angry Sokka stood their tapping his foot against the ground. "Hey Sokka," Aang greeted him awkwardly.

Sokka didn't say anything for several moments, just silently glaring at him before he let out a long sigh. "I should be angry with you," he started, "and I am. But I can see how much you guys care about each other, so I won't kill you. At least yet."

Katara rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks Sokka. Glad to know that my non-bender brother isn't going to try to kill the master of all four elements Avatar. I was so worried for him," her voice dripped with sarcasm.

"This doesn't mean there aren't rules," Sokka warned. "If you guys are going to… do it, then make sure that I can't hear or see it. If I find out that you got her pregnant, then I will kill you. Are we clear?" he tried to appear menacing. Aang nodded in response. "Good. I'm glad we can understand each other. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go talk to my fiance."

Both of their eyes widened. "What?!" Katara gasped. Sokka just laughed and motioned for them to follow. He walked out and found Yue saying good-bye to her family.

"Thank you guys so much for coming," Sokka told them as he stuck a hand out for Arnook to shake.

Arnook shook it firmly and leaned into Sokka's ear, "Make sure you take care of my daughter, Mr. Rivers. Or else." Sokka gulped and nodded quickly, making Arnook smile and gave Yue one more hug before walking out the door, leaving the two couples finally alone.

"Congratulations you guys!" Katara beamed as she hugged Yue. "Welcome to the family, sis!" she teased.

Yue grinned, "Yeah, I guess we're going to officially be sisters now." Katara hugged her again and they both jumped around excitedly.

"Okay guys, calm down," Sokka chuckled. "Now, how about we clean up a bit and watch a movie or something?" They all nodded in agreement and set to work. Half an hour later, the house was decent and they sat down with their respective partners in the living room.

Katara looked up and smiled at Aang from his chest. "I love you."

He grinned back and kissed her on her head. "I love you too."

"Ugh, can you guys _not _do that around me?" Sokka complained as he ate some popcorn. "I don't feel like throwing up, thank you very much."

Katara glared at him while Aang just laughed good naturedly. "You know, I'd really like to Sokka, but I just can't make myself not when she's looking so cute like she is now, so I don't think I can help you out there," Aang informed him without much regret, making Katara smile widely and kiss him passionately. Yue awed as Sokka groaned and did his best to not look at the happy couple. Katara snuggled deeper into his arms and let out a content sigh, happy knowing that she was in the arms of the one she loved.

**The End. **

* * *

Citation Sources/Easter Eggs

"Well, it could be the fact that there's a hard 'K' in it. Or it could be your physical characteristics. Or both. I guess we'll never know."- SubjectDeltaBubz' _Royal Affairs_

"Like the time I figured out who took the missing seal jerky back when we lived in the South Pole… Everyone thought it was a polar-leopard! I was the only one who noticed that the tracks were too light to have come from one. If I hadn't seen Old man Jarko wearing Polar-Leopard boots, we never would have figured out that he had taken it all!" _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ S2 E5: _Avatar Day_

"It was a long time ago… (Doesn't mean it doesn't still hurt sometimes…) Exactly." TheRoseyOne _Four days on a Train_

"Like anything, love is a game. The only way to win is to play. The surest way to lose is _not _to play." Liselle129 _Avatar in Training. _

"I think you would give the Avatar a run for his money if you started resolving more people's problems." SubjectDeltaBubz _Four Elements High_

"I guess I was wondering… I know you just said you thought that the Avatar was killed, but with your being an airbender and all, if you had any idea what happened to the Avatar? ("Oh, no. I didn't know him. I mean, I knew people that knew him, but I didn't. Sorry.") _Avatar: The Last Airbender._ S1 E1: _The Boy in the Iceberg_.

**A/N: Some of these quotes are word for word while most of them are slightly changed up from what they originally were. Either way, all credit goes to the Authors listed above for these quotes. Anyways, thanks for reading this story and I hope you guys enjoyed it! I'll be starting to get into more action-oriented stories soon enough, so keep an eye out because I still have a lot of stories to pump out before I "retire" from writing fanfiction. Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a good day!**


End file.
